Death's Avenger
by SinSidhe
Summary: When a group of demigods decide to disobey the gods and help the mortals against the alien invasion, they are discovered by SHIELD. The consequence? Nico di Angelo must become SHIELD's newest agent. What could go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or the Avengers.

* * *

The sun was shining above Camp Half-blood. The blue sky was cloudless, and happy campers sat chatting amongst their siblings while they ate their lunch in the Pavilion. Overall, your average day at Camp Half-blood. That is, until seventeen year old Nico di Angelo shadow-travelled into the pavilion. He looked paler then usual and shocked, both of which did not go unnoticed by his older cousin Percy Jackson.

"Nico," Percy said, concern evident in his voice. There was not much that could freak out Nico, Ghost King and resident of the Underworld. Whatever was wrong had to be serious. "What happened? Are you alright? Did someone die? Why are you holding a Smurf?"

Nico tossed away the offending Happy Meal toy and started to speak as fast as he could. "I went to McDonalds to get a Happy Meal, and thousands of creepy-assed lizard aliens just invaded New York through this giant-magic-glowing-blue-space portal thingy and now they're flying around on these high tech jet skis and attacking mortals and the only people fighting them of are those 'superheroes' and that godsdamn Asgardian." Nico blinked. "I think that's it."

There was silence until Chiron surged to his feet (hooves?) and yelled "DEMIGODS! TO ARMS!"

Demigods sprinted in every direction, to their cabins, to the armoury, to the stables, all getting ready for battle. Nico ran with Percy to the Big Three's cabins so they could grab their armour. Percy entered the Poseidon cabin and donned his armour at record speed. He also grabbed a bag of Ambrosia and his flask of Nectar, then made his way back outside. He found Nico garbed in the black armour he had worn in the Battle of Manhattan. The skull helmet was still as terrifying as ever. Percy sighed in relief when Nico flipped up the visor. Nico gave him a half smile.

"If it still freaks you out after four years, think what the enemy's reaction is going to be like."

Percy grinned back and they quickly made their way to the Athena cabin. In times of battle, the Athena cabin was the place to be. Upon entering, Percy made his way to Annabeth, who was in the middle of discussing the best place to launch their attack with her half-brother, Malcolm. Percy gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before she turned to Nico.

"Where is the portal?" she asked.

"It's above that piece of crap, Stark Tower," Nico replied, "I saw it open when I was leaving McDonalds. A blue light shot up from the top of the tower, so whatever made the portal must still be on top of it. That's where most of the lizards were, so I think that's where we should head."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Alright, all demigods to Stark Tower. Move out."

Percy smirked. "I like how no one even bothered to doubt Nico, even when he appeared in the middle of lunch, yelling about aliens, while holding a smurf." Nico smacked him upside the head.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain."

An army of forty demigods was just about to mount their pegasi or shadow-travel to the city with Nico, when a flash of light signifying a god's arrival lit up the air. Lord Hermes stood before them, dressed in his tracksuit and holding his mobile phone.

"Stop," he said, "You cannot go any further. We have decided that the demigods are not permitted to become involved in this battle."

"What do you mean we're not permitted to become involved?!" Clarisse yelled angrily, "You were all pretty eager for us to fight last time New York was under attack."

Hermes shifted uneasily. "I'm afraid we can't risk it. The mist still has yet to fully recover from the Titan War, and what with these Asgardians battling in full view of the mortals, if demigods were to become involved, there is a high risk that we will be discovered. That would be a disaster."

After hearing this, Clarisse became even more incensed. "So, what? You're just going to let thousands of mortals die so we can continue to live in secrecy? That's a coward's way out! We are heroes, not cowards!"

The other campers yelled in agreement. Her words had hardened their resolve.  
Hermes rubbed his eyes tiredly. "If it makes you feel any better, I voted for demigod involvement, but it's out of my hands. The council has made its decision. We will just have to wait out this battle and hope for the best." He disappeared in another flash of light before they could argue any more, and the demigods present averted their eyes, so as not to be incinerated. The majority of campers began to wander off, back to their cabins to wait out the invasion, not daring to defy the gods. A few stayed behind. Percy, Nico, Annabeth, Clarisse, Connor and Travis Stoll, Will Solace, Chris Rodriguez, Jake Mason, and a son of Hecate.

"Well," Nico said, in the silence that followed, "I, for one, don't plan on staying here and doing nothing. I'm going, whether the gods want us to or not. A small group will hardly reveal the existence of the gods to the mortals."

"I'm going too," Percy announced. "Annabeth?"

"Count me in," she said. The other nodded in agreement. "Nico, can you shadow-travel all of us to the city?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "But I'm going to need Ambrosia when we arrive. By the way," he said to the son of Hecate, "Who are you?"

The boy grinned, "I'm Elliot, just got here last week. My dad lives near Stark Tower," His face grew serious. "He might be in danger, there's nothing the gods can do to keep me away."

"Alright, good enough reason," Nico said, and closed his eyes.

"Uhhh, Nico?" Percy asked, "You need us to find some shadows?"

"Don't insult me, Seaweed Brain, I'm not an amateur." He grinned darkly, "I'll just make my own."  
A wall of darkness rose up out of the ground, and they were engulfed in shadows.  
Almost instantly, the shadows spat them out into an alley on the street opposite Stark Tower. Only Nico was left standing.

"Oh gods, that was horrible," Connor groaned from the ground. Nico snorted in disdain.

"Wimps," he muttered and then proceeded to scarf down a square of Ambrosia. He looked out the entrance of the alley as he waited for his strength to return. The sky was full of alien vehicles, and the ground that wasn't burning or covered in rubble was serving as the battle ground for the alien troops and the mortal cops. Nico cursed as he watched a police officer get shot by one of the aliens. He was killed instantly.

"Get off the ground," Nico said over his shoulder, "I'm going on ahead. When you guys are able to walk, feel free to join in." Nico then ran from the alley towards the battle. He unsheathed his sword as he went, and a feral snarl appeared on his face. Time to teach these aliens a little lesson in death.

* * *

To say Nico di Angelo was tired was an understatement. He'd been fighting for the past hour straight, summoning horde after horde of undead minions, using the shadows to rip the aliens to shreds, and creating chasms in the ground that sent his enemies directly to Tartarus. Unfortunately, it was taking its toll.

"Percy!" Nico yelled, "You still alive?"

"More alive than you, Death Breath!" Percy replied. Unlike Nico, who was sporting a number of wounds, Percy was fine. The Curse of Achilles saw to that, but Percy looked just as tired as Nico. They were giving it everything they got but the aliens just kept on coming.

"We need to find a way to close that godsdamn portal," Nico yelled over the noise.

"There's no way we'll be able to get to it with all these aliens in the way. Maybe we should-" Percy was silenced when a red, metal blur zoomed above him, shortly followed by one of the huge monsters that had come through with the alien attack force. Nico wasn't sure whether to call the aliens monsters too because they could be harmed by celestial bronze. They were quite lucky. They hadn't considered if the aliens would have the same resistance to celestial bronze as mortals did.

"Percy! Nico!" a male voice called to them.

"Is that Elliot?" Percy asked. Nico didn't' bother to answer, just ran towards the voice, slashing and stabbing any aliens who got in his way. They found Elliot locked in vicious battle with one of the alien lizards. He had managed to disarm it and he still had a dagger, but the thing had still had claws and armour. Elliot already had cuts covering his arms and the right side of his face. Nico didn't bother to notice anything else. He just clenched his fist. Shadows rose from the ground and lunged forward, shooting straight through the alien. It fell to the ground dead just as Nico arrived beside Elliot, who had collapsed. Nico quickly fed him some Ambrosia and poured some Nectar over the deep wounds on Elliot's arms.

"Thanks, man," Elliot said, wincing as he sat up. He turned to Nico and looked at him intently. "I have an idea, and if it works, we'll be able to kill all the aliens in less than a second."

Nico frowned at him in doubt. "Whatever your idea is, it has to be better than us fighting thousands of aliens by ourselves. What is it?"

Elliot gulped, "Well, as you know, my mom is Hecate. She's the goddess of magic. I'm pretty good with magic but I'm nowhere near as good as my siblings. When I asked my mom if there was there any way for me to get stronger, she said that some of her children were able to combine their powers with other demigods, and that I might be able to do it." Percy arrived beside them, panting heavily.

"Whatever it is you girls are chatting about, hurry it up. I can't hold them off much longer, and we got about a hundred more lizards incoming" he sighed heavily, "I'm beat." Nico glanced back at Elliot.

"Combine powers, huh?" His eyes widened in realisation. A grin spread across his face. Percy looked at him nervously.

"Dude, whatever it is you're planning, do it fast. You smiling is creeping me out more than the army of lizards." Nico held a hand out to Elliot and helped him to his feet.

"What do we need to do?" Nico asked.  
Elliot took out a piece of chalk and started to draw a circle around the body of alien Nico had just killed. He then began to draw a mixture of symbols and Greek words for death and magic.

"I didn't want to try this unless it was a last resort. It might not work, I'm not positive what's going to happen, but if it does work, it will kill every single alien in the range of the spell. Its range is about the size of the city if we put enough power into it. Are you willing to risk it?" Nico gazed at the city that was burning around them, being destroyed by the invaders.

"Yes" Nico replied, "Tell me what to do."

Elliot finished drawing the circle, and he then held his knife up to his arm and cut a shallow slice, wincing as he did so. He then handed the knife to Nico, who sliced his own arm open without hesitation. They then stood on opposite sides of the body and clasped hands, their wounds dripping blood onto the body.

"Focus on your powers over death," Elliot said, face clenched from the pain, "Use your powers for removing a soul from a body, but focus it on the circle." Nico raised an eyebrow but complied. Shadows began to curl around his body, and he began to emit a deathly aura. Elliot began to chant in Ancient Greek, and the body began to glow with a white light.

"Ummm, I'm guessing it's a little too late to ask what's going on?" Percy asked. The others ignored him. The deathly aura continued to grow until Percy started to find it hard to breath. The body began to glow brighter and brighter, and suddenly, a nuke flew over head. Percy had just enough time to gape like a fish before it disappeared into the portal.

"What the-" He was cut off by the sound of an explosion. The portal began to shrink and just before it fully closed, something red fell through. Just as it did, whatever Nico and Elliot were doing took effect. The dead body exploded, and Percy watched in awe as all the aliens in view dropped to the ground, dead. Nico collapsed to the ground along with them, and Elliot staggered away from the circle. Elliot looked around and then started a victory dance.

"WE DID IT!" he yelled. Percy just shook his head and ran to Nico.

"Hey, Zombie Dude, wake up!" Percy was scared until Nico groaned and began to curse Percy in Greek and Italian for waking him up. "With great power, comes great need to nap, you said. Too bad, Death Breath, we gotta get back to camp, and we need you to get us there." He then slapped Nico in the face.

"What the Hades!" Nico yelled groggily, as began to wake up. Percy dragged him to his feet and helped him limp back to the alley where they first arrived. It took them a while, so by the time they arrived, the others were already there. They were injured, but nothing to serious.

"What happened?" Annabeth asked as she took in the snoring Nico, and the happy dancing Elliot.

"Why did all the aliens spontaneously drop dead at the same time?"

"Nico and Elliot did some sort of magic spell and it killed them all," Percy said, as he tried not to fall over under the combined weight of his exhaustion and an unconscious Nico. "We'll explain it once we get back to camp." The others agreed, and Percy slapped Nico again.

"For the love of Zeus, STOP SLAPPING ME," Nico yelled, glowering sleepily. The fact that he could barely open his eyes nullified the glare.

"Then stop falling asleep," Percy replied, "We need you to bring us home, can you manage it?"  
Nico got to his feet unsteadily. When Percy tried to assist him he shoved his hands away. He could stand by himself. He was really tired but luckily the alley was enclosed in shadows, so Nico didn't have to make his own. With great effort, he shadow-travelled them back to camp. Upon arrival, he had just enough time to see the angry faces of all 12 Olympians, before he passed out again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: This story takes place 4 years after the Last Olympian, but Heroes of Olympus never happened. I forgot to mention that...**

For the third time that day, Nico woke up to Percy slapping his face. He groaned, and tried to punch Percy but failed dismally, as his arms felt like they were made of lead, and he couldn't seem to open his eyes fully. It was even worse than that time he accidently shadow-travelled to China. He managed to stand up, and it was only then that he noticed where he was. In the Throne Room of the gods. And said gods did not look happy.

Around him stood the others who had gone to New York. They were trying to hide it, but Nico could sense that they were scared. He felt fear begin rise in his own chest but he crushed it. Children of Hades didn't show fear.

"Demigods," Zeus growled, his blue eyes crackling with fury, "Do you have any idea what you have done?"

The demigods shifted nervously, but said nothing. Best not to interrupt the pissed off God of Storms.

Speaking of storms, a pretty viscous one was brewing outside. The vibrations of thunder reverberated through the marble room, and lightning flashing above their heads through the glass roof.

Suddenly, Percy stepped forward. "My Lord Zeus, as far as I can see, we saved countless mortal lives, and assisted the mortals in closing the portal. If not for our involvement, who knows how many people could have been killed?"

"The prevention of mortal deaths was not our main concern!" Zeus yelled, and thunder boomed. "Because of your actions, the existence of demigods has been discovered!"

Percy paled, and stammered, "Wha- what do you mean? There were only ten of us! There's no way the mortals could have seen-"

"You were told the Mist was failing!" Zeus shouted angrily, "What with that, and the new technology the mortals have developed, the possibility of discovery was too high to take the risk. This was decided by the gods, and we ordered you to stay at camp. An order that you ignored. Because of your actions, a mortal government agency managed to obtain footage of your battle, and the Asgardian saw no reason not to inform them of what you were."

"You mean the Asgardians know about the existence of the gods?" Nico asked. "But that means they could have told the agency of our existence months ago. It might not have been because of us."

"There is no doubt that you are to blame," Zeus growled, "The last time the Asgardians set foot on earth, we managed to convince them that we were destroyed." Zeus did not look particularly happy over the memory of feigning his own death. "They think themselves gods, and they took it upon themselves to challenge our children. A battle between Asgardians and demigods could have levelled the planet. It was a risk we could not take.."

Athena spoke up, the first god other than Zeus to speak since Nico had woken up. "And because of your actions, it was all for naught. The one known as 'Thor' hungers for battle. Our children experienced that first hand all those years ago. I would not be surprised if they were already planning an attack."

"Oh, come on, sis," Ares said, "Another Pantheon war would be awesome! Our demigods can kick those Norse's collective asses!"

"But if it was a Pantheon War, couldn't the gods fight? I mean, a battle between gods would make more sense than demigods versus gods-" Annabeth was cut off before she could finish.

"SILENCE!" Zeus thundered, his face reddening with fury, "The Norse are not gods, daughter of Athena. They are similar in strength to demigods in that they are capable of possessing supernatural powers. But they are mortal, albeit extremely long-lived mortals, therefore, the gods CANNOT interfere."

"Now," he continued, "We know that cameras on the streets where most of the battles took place managed to record images of the demigods Perseus Jackson, and the son of Hades. The Mist failed to corrupt the images, so the government agency now has proof of us. The Asgardian took it upon himself to tell the mortals who you were, and we have yet to discover whether or not these mortals plan on sharing this knowledge. If you had all stayed at Camp as you were ordered, none of this would have happened."

Percy and Nico looked at each other. Mortals knew what they were, and the gods were furious. It couldn't get any worse.

"They will have to be punished," Hera said. Never mind, it could. "They disobeyed us, and so they must suffer. Perhaps a trip to the Fields of Punishment will teach them a lesson?"

The gods who didn't have children present grumbled in agreement, while the ones that did such as Poseidon and Athena, began to protest.

"The Fields of Punishment? To harsh, Brother," Poseidon argued, "They only did what they felt was right. If we had explained the situation to them in more detail, this would not have happened. We gods are also to blame."

The arguments continued, no one getting anywhere, and the demigods were left standing in the middle, awaiting their fate.

This continued until the shadows in the room came to life, and a dark figure stepped out, radiating fear and death. Lord Hades had arrived.

"Hey, thanks for inviting me," Hades said sarcastically, glowering darkly around the room. The other gods fell silent as the 'Death Glare' passed over them. It was terrifying, and even Zeus could not stop himself from cringing as he came under assault by it. This continued until Hades' eyes found Nico's. Nico bowed low to Hades. "Greetings Father," Nico said respectfully, "I see you've come to join the fun."

Hades smirked lightly at his sons words. They had grown closer after the Titan War, close enough that Nico actually lived at his father's palace in the Underworld when he wasn't at camp or exploring the world.

"Hello, son," Hades said fondly, "It seems you have caused my siblings a bit of a problem," he paused for a moment, "Good job."

Nico blinked at his father's words, and then just shook his head. His father was weird. At least they now had two of the Big Three on their side.

"Dearest Hera," Hades continued, as he walked towards the hearth. He conjured a throne of bones, and then sat down, giving Hestia a short nod, "You would do well not to volunteer my domain so flippantly. It," he paused for a moment, madness burning in his nightmare black eyes, "Upsets me."

Hera gulped and nodded. After the Titan war when Hades saved the day by arriving with undead minions to the fight, he had gained a lot of respect. Enough that he was accepted as part of the Olympian Council, when he was actually bothered to attend, that is. He was one of the Big Three, after all. He would not be ostracised by lesser gods any longer.

"Your timing is impeccable, Hades," Poseidon said, glancing at the other gods, "Our family seems to have forgotten that they were discussing the execution of a group of demigods that contains both of our sons. I don't know about you, but I'm not too happy about that."

Hades nodded thoughtfully, "I cannot say I am too happy either, Brother. Perhaps a different punishment should be discussed. One that does not include the death of my only son." His eyes flashed dangerously.

It was then that Hermes spoke up. He had been the one shouting the loudest at Zeus. "You say that this government agency, named SHIELD, I believe, now know of our existence. It is most probable that they will now attempt to recruit demigods to their cause, if the Asgardian doesn't argue for war. What say we give them what they want, in exchange for keeping us a secret?"

Athena nodded slowly at Hermes. "That is not a bad plan. If they have a powerful enough demigod on their side, there would be no need for them to search for others. Our children would be protected, and the deal means so would we." Her eyes landed on Percy. So did Zeus'.

"Very well," he rumbled, "I would be happier if I could kill them, but we will have a vote. All in favour of volunteering one of our children for the sake of our secrecy?" All hands went up except for Poseidon's. He knew that if Athena liked the plan, it would involve Percy being kept away from her daughter.

"Percy Jackson," Zeus continued, "You will go to these mortals on behalf of the gods, and work with them. If they have a demigod as strong as you" (he said this as if he didn't want to admit Percy was powerful) "then I see no reason why they would try to recruit any others." There were mutterings of agreement among the gods. Percy looked back at Annabeth and saw there were tears in her eyes. They were finally living together, and they were both in college, Percy studying Marine Biology, and Annabeth finally fulfilling her dream of studying architecture. They were finally happy, and now Percy would be leaving.

"No," a voice rang out. Percy looked forward to see Nico standing in front of him. "Percy has done enough in service to the gods. He has a life now, one that doesn't have room for government agencies. It was I who informed the demigods of the invasion, and I was the one who convinced them to go even when we were told not to. Leave Percy out of this, I'll go in his place."

Percy opened his mouth to argue, but a tendril of shadows covered his mouth, preventing him from stopping Nico.

Zeus frowned thoughtfully. "Very well, son of Hades. You will go to these mortals in Jackson's place. All of you," he gestured to the others behind Nico, "Are free to go. We have things to discuss with Nico di Angelo."

With a wave of his hand, they disappeared, leaving Nico alone in the Throne Room with the twelve Olympians, Lady Hestia, and his father.

"Demigod," Zeus said, in his most commanding voice, "You will go to the mortal agency known as SHIELD, and you will volunteer your services. You may reveal your true identity as a half-blood, only to those already aware of it, and you will assist them in whatever they order you to do. You will follow all orders, exempting those that will cause the gods harm. You may go pack what belongings you need, because you will be leaving tonight. You are dismissed."

* * *

After the meeting was called to a close, Nico shadow-travelled to the Underworld. Hades beat him there, and was waiting for him in the room Nico had claimed as his space. Stygian Iron weapons hung from the walls of black stone, and an unmade bed was shoved into a corner. Upon arrival, Nico grabbed a backpack and started shoving clothes into it, all of which were black and a number of which also had skulls decorating them. Hades sat on the bed and watched his son shove a number of daggers into the bag, before taking of his armour and shoving it in as well. The bag was like a TARDIS. Nico shrugged on his black aviator jacket and started to search the room for his stash of money.

It was a few moments before Hades spoke, "Nico, why did you do it?" Nico paused in his packing and looked at his father.

"Percy is my friend," Nico said simply, "I wasn't just going to let the gods ruin his life. Besides," he said, somehow managing to fit a shield into the backpack, "It's not like I have anything better to do."

Hades raised an eyebrow. "You are truly strange, my boy. My children are not known for their loyalty. Nor their sanity. It has been many centuries since I had a child who didn't succumb to evil, and yet here you are, Ghost King and a hero."

Nico looked at his father in surprise. Sure, he'd been getting on great with his dad, almost like a normal family (except for the whole 'living in the Underworld' part, and when he didn't clean his room and Persephone turned him into a Dandelion), but it was seldom that his father actually out right complimented him. He could feel a true smile growing on his face. He walked over to Hades and hugged him. Hades looked surprised, but returned the hug, if only for a moment. They broke apart and Hades cleared his throat.

"Truthfully Nico, you are the first of my children that I have ever invited to live with me in the Underworld. You aren't mad, like many of your past siblings, you're not selfish, and you don't enjoy mindless killing. In truth, you are an oddity among my children. I believe your mother may be the cause of that." Hades rubbed his eyes before returning his gaze to Nico. "You are mortal, Nico, and eventually mortals die. But until then, I would like you to become my heir."

Nico blinked in surprise. He knew Hades had grown fond of him, but to name him heir? That would give Nico dominion over much of the Underworld, and over death. Nico hesitated for a moment, and then walked over to his father and knelt before him. "Father, I would be honoured to become your heir." Hades smiled proudly and placed his hand upon Nico's forehead.

"You are mortal, so you will need a little bit of a power boost. We can't have you falling asleep after shadow-travelling only a small group of people such a short distance, can we? This might hurt a tiny bit," he said, before he Nico zapped with black energy. Nico yelled in pain, and face-planted the floor.

"GAH, IT MIGHT HURT A LITTLE!?" he yelled into the floor, "When my legs start working again, I'm gonna beat you to death!"

"Now, now son," Hades said as he slowly walked backwards, "I'm immortal, but with the new improvements, you might actually be able to harm me. How about we all just calm down and-" he was cut off when a ball of black fire hit the wall beside his head. Hades gazed and the melting stone wall, and then back at his son, who had gotten to his feet, and was glaring at his father with eyes that were pitch black all over, even the whites.

"I just gave you a power upgrade," his father reasoned, "Now you plan on attacking me? That's not polite."

Nico paused for a moment as he glanced down at his hands, which were still alight with black fire. He shrugged, "Fine, I won't try to hurt you." He smirked darkly. "I'll just set your robes on fire instead." Hades, wisely, fled the room.


	3. Chapter 3

The stormy night of the invasion found the Avengers in Stark Tower. They had just returned from their Shawarma expedition, and were making themselves at home in what remained of Tony's penthouse, awaiting a message from Director Fury.

The battle had taken its toll on the heroes, all of them sporting injuries inflicted by the aliens, and in Thor's case, also by friendly fire, (The "other guy" still wasn't too fond of him). He healed at a faster rate than a regular human, so the stab wound inflicted by Loki was already closed, now just a raised scar. He left the room in search of pop tarts, his ripped cape billowing behind him.

Tony was splayed across a dust covered couch, the remnants of his Iron Man suit already in the process of being repaired by Jarvis. Flying into a space portal, almost getting blown up by a nuke, and then getting man-handled by the hulk after falling from said space portal could really take it out of a guy.

Steve, although covered in scrapes and bruises, wasn't that seriously injured. His serum improved reflexes and strength had saved his life during the battle. Still dressed in his filthy Captain America uniform, he looked like he wanted nothing more than a warm shower and a day's worth of sleep.

Bruce was uninjured, but he was exhausted. The transformation he undertook to become the Hulk really tired him out, and with all the alien-ass-whooping he was responsible for, he was practically dead on his feet. He collapsed into a ripped armchair, and let his head flop back, eyes already closed.

Agents Romanoff and Barton were injured just like the others. As the only humans in the group without super powers or high tech battle armour, they had had to rely on their SHIELD training in order to survive. Added to that, Clint was still recovering from his stint as Loki's zombie minion, and Natasha from the 'Hulk fiasco' on the Helicarrier. Clint had a splitting headache, and both were looking forward to heading home to their respective beds.

They had received a message from Fury as they were coming out of the Shawarma restaurant, telling them to head to Stark Tower and await further instructions. None of them were too pleased about it. Why would this day not end?

They were all brought back to the present by the sound of Jarvis' voice. "Sir, I have an incoming video call from one 'Director Nick Fury', shall I divert it as usual?"

"No point, Jarvis," Tony sighed, "He's a problem that will just come back." He paused, "Kinda like mould."

There was a click, and Fury's face appeared on one of the few screens that hadn't been smashed, in all his eye-patched glory.

"Avengers," Fury began, his face a calm mask, no emotion peaking through, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Tony groaned in despair, "What now?! We just got attacked by a bazillion aliens, New York City almost got blown up by a nuke, and my beautiful Tower was trashed by an angry, green, mutant leprechaun." He rolled his eyes to the heavens. "You mean to tell me you've got even MORE bad news?" He splayed his arms outwards. "Jarvis, would you mind pinching me? This must be a nightmare, things can't get any worse."

"My apologies, sir," Jarvis replied, "I have no fingers. I'm afraid I am incapable of assisting you in the verification of whether or not you are currently sleeping."

Tony sighed dramatically, "Oh well, I guess this means we have to listen to whatever it is Fury thinks is important," Tony turned back to the screen, "So Nick, what's this bad news you were talking about? We don't have all day, you know."

Fury's eyebrow twitched with suppressed irritation over Stark's antics. He took a moment to calm himself before he began to speak. "As you know, after the missile was fired into the portal courtesy of Mr. Stark, every alien present in the battle was killed instantly. We theorised that perhaps the aliens were somehow connected to a command centre through come sort of mind link, and when the base of control was destroyed, they were killed along with it. However, after reviewing footage of the battle from the all the cameras still working during the battle, we made a distressing discovery."

Fury's face was replaced by the slightly grainy feed from some sort of security camera. The video showed what seemed to be two armoured men slashing and stabbing the aliens with what appeared to be glowing swords. One of the men was wearing bronze Greek styled armour with a helmet that covered his face, and wielding a three foot long blade of the same metal. The other, was garbed in armour similar to the first man, except his was black. He was also wielding a three foot long blade, in his case made out of a glowing black metal. Together, they made quite the ferocious team.

Steve gazed at the feed, confusion on his face. "So some guys with swords helped us out in the battle? I gotta admit, that is a pretty strange choice of weaponry, but if they were helping to defend New York, I don't see the problem."

Fury's answered him, but he left the recording playing. "Just keep watching."

The fight between the unknown men continued, and just as the Avengers were wondering what they were supposed to be waiting for, the man in black raised his hand, and clenched it into a fist.

What appeared to be solid shadows erupted out of the ground under a group of aliens, and proceeded to stab them over and over until all of them collapsed to the ground, dead. The bronze warrior then gestured in a movement similar to that of his companion, and water erupted from the sewers under the street, wrapping around the aliens, and drowning them. The Avengers watched in shock as the two men made their way down the street, continuing to slash with their swords, but also performing impossible feats, such and causing localized earthquakes under their opponents, and creating deep chasms in the ground, dropping their enemies to their deaths. This continued for a number of minutes until the recording was replaced with another, this time from a camera farther up the street. The time displayed at the bottom of the recording showed that 45 minutes had passed since the last video. It once again showed the two mysterious warriors, who were obviously tiring.

Their swings were more sluggish, and their movements were not as viper fast as that of before. They continued to battle, working together to destroy countless enemies. All of a sudden, they both looked up, and headed up the street, out of view of the second camera.

The feed was replaced with that of a third camera, farther again up the street. The two warriors seemed to be running in the direction of third warrior, who was dressed in the same armour as the others but in silver, and he was wielding a dagger rather than a sword. He was engaged in a vicious fight with a rather large alien. A fight that he appeared to be losing.

The dark armoured man ran to his aid, while his companion watched his back, killing any aliens who got too close. The man raised a hand once again, and the attacking alien was consumed by shadows. He caught the knife-warrior before he hit the ground and fed him something. This appeared to replenish the fallen ones energy, and as soon as he gained his footing, he began discussing something with the dark-warrior. Whatever he said, the dark-warrior agreed with him, and they both proceeded to slit their wrists after the dagger-warrior drew a circle around the mutilated corpse of his attacker.

The Avengers watched all of this in mute fascination as the bleeding warriors were joined by their bronze companion. The bleeding warriors clasped hands and did something that caused the body below them to glow with a white light. They could see Stark fly overhead in his Iron Man suit, and just as the explosion of the missile caused the camera to shake, the glowing body blew up. The moment it did, aliens visible in the recording collapsed, dead.

The dark-warrior then collapsed, while the other began to dance in a rather ridiculous manner. The recording continued to play until the bronze warrior dragged his unconscious companion out of view, followed by the still dancing other.

The picture disappeared, replaced by the face of Fury. "I don't know about you, but to me, that be some crazy shit."

The Avengers all began questioning Fury at the same time. Who were they? WHAT were they? More aliens? Asgardians? This continued until a hammer flew into a wall, destroying it, and effectively silencing the others.

"Thank you, Thor," Fury said, "We're not sure what they are, but-"

"Demigods," Thor said, quietly but clearly, "They were demigods."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "I see. I was under the impression that Asgard would inform us of the presence of any of its people on our planet."

"They are not of Asgard," Thor replied, confusion plainly visible on his face, "They are of Earth. We had thought them dead and gone, but here they are, alive, and even more powerful."

Banner turned to look at Thor in disbelief, "Are you trying to say that demigods actually exist? Like the real thing, not a race of aliens who passed themselves off as gods?"

Thor nodded, sagely. "They were real. ARE real. The stories of Greek demigods and their godly parents are as true as those of my kinsmen. Although some of them may not have all the correct facts, they are all based on truth."

"And you didn't think to mention this before?" Tony asked, looking at Thor as if he were stupid.

"We thought them dead! The last time the Greeks and Asgardians met, there was much bloodshed. I admit it was partly my fault. I hungered for war, and the Greek demigods were powerful opponents. I thought we had destroyed them, and guilt has plagued me ever since. The All Father was furious that we had caused the fall of such a mighty empire." He paused, and then frowned. "It seems we were mistaken."

Fury glared. "I don't give a damn if you had a rivalry with these 'Greeks' thousands of years ago. All I care about is finding out whether or not they plan on causing trouble, and why we didn't know about them before now. I've had enough of war to last a lifetime, and if you Asgardians try to blow up any more cities, we're going to have a talk." Fury's eyes glinted with menace, "And let me tell you, you are not going to enjoy it."

Thor was quick to reassure Fury that he wasn't interested in fighting the Greeks, and the others began to discuss why these demigods had only been discovered that day.

"They have power over the mortal mind," Thor said gravely, "I believe it to be called 'the Mist'. It distorts a mortal's view of the world, allowing the demigods to live amongst you, without revealing their true parentage. As to why you are able to see them now, I would guess that for some reason, the Mist has failed. Even with your technology, there is no way you could penetrate the Mist if they did not wish it to be so."

"Oh good," Tony said sarcastically, "Now we have a bunch godly miscreants running round the place, messing with our beloved technology! Maybe if I create a filter for the lenses of a camera that can..." Tony began to walk in circles, muttering ideas to himself about how to penetrate the mist, with only Bruce able to understand what he was saying. The others ignored him and turned their attention to Fury.

"What do you want us to do, Director?" Clint asked, fiddling with his bow that was still slung over his shoulder.

"I want you on standby to investigate any anomalies our satellites pick up when we compare them to past records. With this 'mist' down, hopefully places that were previously shrouded by it will now be visible. The Avengers need to be ready in case this escalates to violence. I can't see a race of super humans peacefully accepting a group of mortals crashing their party. We need to be prepared for another war."

"That won't be necessary," a voice that sounded vaguely Italian, echoed from the shadows.

Almost instantly, Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Thor swivelled around, brandishing weapons, all of which they pointed at the corner of the room, where the shadows were darker than the rest.

Bruce closed his eyes and attempted to calm himself down. Wouldn't want to destroy Tony's home any more than it already was. Tony on the other hand, was brandishing a lamp in the same direction as the others. He had neglected to keep his bracelets on, and his suit was still in repairs. He had no weapons on him, and the penthouse security system was trashed. The lamp would have to do. He attempted to appear intimidating.

"Jarvis," he called out, "Is there a ninja in the corner?"

"My apologies sir, but I do no sense anything from the area in which you have aimed your lamp, ninja or otherwise."

The voice called out, "If I become visible, will you guys try not to shoot me? I'm here on behalf of my family."

"And who would that be?" Natasha replied, not lowering her gun.

"The Greeks", the voice said.

"Avengers, lower your weapons. You have authority to attack if he tries anything."

The Avengers begrudgingly lowered their weapons. As soon as they did, the owner of the voice came into view. He looked to be in his late teens, and he was tall, about 6 ft. He had messy, shaggy black hair that kept falling into his eyes, which were so black, it was impossible to distinguish the iris from the pupil. He was lean, but still muscled, and he was extremely pale, yet he still managed to have an olive complexion. He was dressed in a black aviator's jacket over a black t-shirt with a skull on it and black jeans tucked into black combat boots. He was handsome, if a bit emo, but there was also a dark aura around him. One that radiated fear and death.

The Avengers were tempted to attack, but they followed Fury's orders. The Captain stepped forward.

"Who are you?" he asked, suspicious unmasked in his voice.

The teenager scowled sullenly as he took in all the people in the room, and shifted restlessly. He twisted the skull ring on his finger before speaking.

"I'm Nico di Angelo," his accented voice echoing clearly through the silent room. "Son of Hades, Lord of the Underworld and god of the dead." He smirked slightly at the look of shock on Stark's and Banner's faces. The others kept their faces blank.

"Pleasure to meet you."

**Author Note: Thanks for reading. I don't think I'll be able to update again until Wednesday, but I'll try to do 2 chapters. Review if you want and feel free to point out any idiotic mistakes. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I know I said I wouldn't be updating until Wednesday, but the reviews made me happy, so I wrote another chapter. Who needs sleep anyways?**

Thor gazed and Nico, distrust marring his features

"A son of Hades, you say. From what I recall, the spawn of the Underworld are not known for their loyalty to the gods." He spoke in a disdainful voice, "Nor for their sanity."

Nico's hands clenched into fists, and the shadows around him began darken and thicken, which did not go unnoticed by the Avengers.

"I'm sane most of the time," Nico's lips curled into a vicious snarl, "Unless somebody manages to piss me off. That's when things get a little... messy." The whites of Nico's eyes began to bleed to black, and the Avengers, even Thor, could not stop the wave undulated fear that the sight of him caused.

Thor raised his hammer again, but just as he was about to charge, Fury's voice broke the haze of anger that had begun to cloud his vision.

"Thor," Fury said, irritation leaking into his voice, "You did just promise that you were uninterested in fighting the Greeks less than 10 minutes ago, didn't you?"

Thor didn't look to happy about it, but he lowered his weapon again. "That was before the Greeks decided to send a demon on their behalf."

Nico glared at the Thor, but walked towards the screen on which Fury's face was displayed. He nodded to him, and then began to speak. "Who the gods sent doesn't matter. What does matter is that I'm here, and I've got a proposition for you."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "And why should I listen to this proposition?" he asked.

"Because if you do, and you if you choose to accept it, you will have the powers of a demigod at your disposal, and a promise of peace from the gods."

Fury considered this carefully. "That does sound tempting, but there's obviously going to be a catch. There's always a catch."

Nico nodded in affirmation before continuing. "You have to promise to keep your discovery of the gods a secret from the rest of the world, and we want your word that you, and your pet Asgardian, will not attempt to restart the Pantheon War. Apparently it wasn't much fun last time, and the gods would rather not have to 'sacrifice' all of their children." Nico rolled his eyes at the last comment. The gods really were assholes sometimes. Thunder boomed, and Nico grumpily apologised in his head, before returning his attention to the conversation with Mr. Matrix Pirate.

The Director was deep in thought. "I believe these terms to be acceptable. We have no interest in starting any more wars, but keep this in mind," Fury stared into Nico's eyes, not flinching from the fear which the demigod's eyes invoked, which caused Nico's respect for the man to double. "If _any_ of you Greeks do _anything_ to endanger the people of this country, so help me, I will make you regret it."

Nico raised his eyebrow at the undisguised threat, but nodded anyway. He was just about to speak, but was interrupted by Thor.

"You are not just going to trust him so easily," Thor said, "He could be lying. He is a son of Hades' after all."

Nico gave him a terrifying glare. This guy was really starting to piss him off. "You seem to have a problem with children of Hades, Thor. Come on, don't be shy, why don't you speak what's on your mind," he growled, his voice ripping through the air.

Thor pointed at him angrily, "Hades' children were responsible for the most deaths among Asgardians. You are ruthless, have no loyalty, and show no mercy."

The light seemed to leach from the room as Nico's anger grew. He wanted to lash out at Thor, teach him a lesson in pain, but instead he calmed himself. He took a deep breath, and smothered his anger. Light began to return to the room, and it was a few moments before he spoke.

"I don't give a damn what you think, Asgardian," Nico said in an emotionless voice, "But perhaps you should not judge people so quickly. We would be your allies, and I will not be responsible for a failure in negotiations."

Thor opened his mouth and closed it again. This was not what he had expected from the Underworlder.

It was then that Steve spoke up. "So, you said something about us gaining the services of a demigod? When will they get here?"

Tony rolled his eyes at the Captain as he walked over, the lamp dangling limply in his hand. "Obviously this kid is our new colleague." He smiled at Nico, before saying "Hey, I'm Tony Stark, obviously you've heard of me," to which Nico raised a dark eyebrow, before Tony turned back to Steve. "Why else would they send him here if not to introduce himself to his new friends?"

Steve shook his head, "No way can it be him, he can't possibly be over eighteen. I don't care if these guys are gods, children shouldn't fight in wars."

Nico interrupted smoothly, "Well we do. Demigods are trained to fight from whatever age they discover their true heritage at. I found out when I was ten, and this battle today was the second war I've been involved in. Besides, you didn't seem to doubt my abilities when you were watching that video of me. Which," he said, looking at Fury, "Was kind of creepy. I am still a minor. I'm pretty sure there are laws against you stalking me."

Fury glared at him before stating, "You were the one in black armour."

"Yeah," Nico said, once again fiddling with his skull ring. He didn't like people much, and being in a room with six people, whom he was pretty sure wanted to cause him bodily harm, was making him a bit antsy.

"Myself and a few others decided to come help out against the Olympian Council's orders. We didn't know the mist was faulty." He paused. "... Well actually we did, but we didn't know that you guys would find evidence, or that there was a top secret spy agency out to get us, or that Thor would take it upon himself to tell you everything."

"Wait wait wait," Tony said, "You mean to say that your gods were just going to leave us deal with an alien invasion by ourselves?" Tony frowned, "That's not very nice."

Nico shrugged indifferently. "The gods never directly involve themselves with mortal affairs. Maybe if the world had gotten taken over, they _might_ have gotten involved, but otherwise they leave us half-bloods to do all the work."

There was silence before Bruce asked the question that had been on all of their minds. "That thing you did to the aliens... when you killed them all at the same time... what was that?"

Nico shifted uncomfortably, his signature scowl appearing on his face. "Me and another demigod, a son of Hecate, came up with this spell to get rid of the aliens that were already through the portal. We didn't know if it would work, and it was only so my cousin could try to get up to the portal to close it, but then portal closed and the same time we finished the spell, and it all worked out. We figured you mortals had somehow done it, and we left." He paused, and shifted his feet. "Well the others left, I kinda got dragged..."

The others looked at him in shock. There was a pause before Clint asked "You guys have spells for mass genocide? Well, can I just say, thanks for picking our team." Natasha rolled her eyes before asking her own question.

"From what we caught on film, you seem to have a number of skills. We've already seen that you can control shadows, and possibly the earth as well, if the miniature earthquakes and random crevices on the street are anything to go by. Anything else?"

Nico thought about it for a moment before replying, "Well the manipulation of shadows is called Umbrakinesis, and the earthquakes and stuff were what my father calls Geokinesis. Demigods are pretty strong. We're faster, and hardier than normal mortals, and we're also able to see through the Mist. I also have dominion over the dead, something you might call Necromancy." Nico looked uncomfortable about revealing his abilities to these strangers, but he really didn't want to disobey direct orders from the gods twice in one day. "I'm also able to transport myself using shadows, which is called Shadow-Travelling, and I can sense people's life auras, and death."

He looked around at the varying expressions of shock and disbelief travelling around the room, and his scowl deepened, before adding, "I'm also able to summon this stuff called Hellfire, but I just learned how to do it today, so I haven't really got the hang of it yet. The missing walls in my father's palace are testament to that," he finished, before glancing at Fury. "Anything else you want to know?"

"No, Mr. Di Angelo, I think that's enough for today. I think it would be best if you stayed with the Avengers until we can write up our agreement, and come meet you face to face. You'll understand if we're a bit weary of allowing a complete stranger into our headquarters without the proper background checks."

Nico nodded sagely, "Yeah, I understand. I'm not supposed to be in the sky anyways. You're super-secret Helicarrier that I'm not supposed to know about is safe, I promise."

Fury glared at him before shutting off the transmission, but not before they heard him mutter something along the lines of 'Not another smart-ass'.

Unsurprisingly, with all the new developments, the Avengers decided to stay in Stark Tower. Fury hadn't said it, but they knew he wanted them to keep an eye on Nico, to discover whether or not he could be trusted. They were just taking his word that he was who he said he was. If they hadn't seen how the darkness reacted to him with their own eyes, and compared it to the video of the dark-warrior, they would have undoubtedly tried to attack Nico, teenager or not.

With Fury gone, the agents and Steve relaxed a bit. There was more silence as they regarded their newest, and youngest, agent.

"So," Tony said, returning to the sofa, on which he flopped down, "Nico di Angelo. I guess you'll be staying with us until Fury finishes cyber stalking you. Hope you haven't been surfing po-"

"Shut up, Stark," the Captain interrupted. Tony huffed but fell silent, and placed the lamp back on its table, but still in arms reach. The emo kid kind of freaked him out.

Steve gestured to the chair opposite the one he had just seated himself in. "Why don't you sit down, kid," he said kindly, "You did as much fighting today as we did. Do you need to call your mom or a relative to tell them where you are?"

Nico scowled, but walked over to the chair, moving fluidly, with the grace of a dancer. His father's 'Improvements' had changed him. He had battled all day, and yet he didn't feel as tired as he should be. He would have to figure out how much the changes had affected him later.

He dropped into the chair, and gazed at Steve. "My mom's dead, Captain," he said emotionlessly, "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me 'Kid', he continued grouchily, "I'm around the same age as you."

Steve gaped at him, "What do you mean? I'm over 70 years old!"

"Yeah, same," Nico replied, "And before you ask, yes I do age. I was involved in a situation similar to yours, just without the ice."

Steve and the others looked intrigued, but didn't question him. Nico still looked upset over the mention of his mother, so they wisely chose not to question him about it anymore.

Thor, who had been standing by a wall with his arms crossed, decided to continue his quest for pop tarts. He did not trust the Greek, but he did trust his team. They could handle anything Nico threw at them, in his opinion.

The others watched him go, and Tony called out, "If you eat all my pop tarts, you better replace them!" Thor grumbled something in reply, and the door swung shut behind him. Or it tried to. As soon as it hit the wall, it fell off its hinges, clattering to the floor. Tony winced, and rubbed the back of his head.

"I swear," he said to Nico, "I'm actually quite a neat person." The Bruce and Steve snorted, and shared a knowing look. If it wasn't for his maids, Tony would be living in filth. He was that lazy.

Natasha and Clint decided to go find the spare bedrooms so they could get some sleep, leaving Bruce, Tony, Steve and Nico alone together. Nico took in his surroundings. The tower actually looked alright under the rubble and glass. Although he wasn't too fond of the outside, he had to admit, Stark's penthouse was pretty cool, what with all the high tech appliances, and its view of the city.

"Well Cap, it seems you've finally found a friend your own age," Tony smirked from his position on the sofa, "Even if he isn't fully human, and decidedly creepy in appearance."

Nico gave sent a Death Glare at Stark. Tony's smile froze on his face, and he clutched at his chest. "Jarvis? Did my heart just stop?"

"Yes sir, but only momentarily. I would not make a habit of it, though, as it is rather bad for your health."

Tony edged along the sofa, trying the casually get away from Nico. "Good God. That was the single most terrifying experience of my life. Please don't do that again."

"Only if you don't insult me," Nico replied, "If you really piss me off, I might give you a full Death Glare. Last time I used it, I managed to disintegrate 20 Hellhounds." Nico smirked fondly at the memory, "Good times."

Steve and Bruce laughed at the fear on Tony's face. Tony wasn't sure whether or not Nico was joking, but he decided to play it safe, and changed the subject. "Where did you learn to fight so well? You demigods got some sort of secret training camp?"

Nico's eyes widened in surprise. "Actually, yeah. Most demigods go there during the summer, but some stay all year round. I drop in from time to time to visit my cousin Percy and his girlfriend Annabeth. They both help out with the training of the younger kids in their spare time." Nico stopped talking, frowning as he realised he had said too much. He didn't even know these people, why was he telling them these things?

Bruce seemed to realise that Nico didn't plan on saying anything more. Nico was quite the confusing individual. One minute he was terrifying, and Bruce had to stop himself from turning into the 'Other Guy' who felt threatened, and the next minute, Nico seemed to be just like any other teenager, albeit one who spoke a bit old fashioned, and who had an unhealthy fondness for the colour black, and feared the sun.

He sighed to himself, and got to his feet. He had a feeling that Nico would be joining the Avengers soon enough. He couldn't see SHIELD passing up the possibility of adding another powerful member to the Avengers Initiative.

"Come on Nico, I'm sure we'll be able to find you a room to sleep in for tonight. I'm dead on my feet."

Nico got up, and followed Bruce out of the room. He still didn't trust the Avengers, but he was more than capable of defending himself. The gods had told him to obey these mortals, and he would. Although he didn't care particularly care what the other gods thought of him, he cared what his father thought. As the heir of the Underworld, he would not fail. He would make his father proud.

**A.N. Gah, so many words and I haven't even introduced the plot yet. I foresee this becoming an insanely long fanfic...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Again, this story takes place 4 years after TLO but the HoO never happened. There will be no Romans.**

_2 Weeks later_

Just as Bruce foretold, no sooner had SHIELD discovered everything there was to know about Nico di Angelo's history, or at least his history since his removal from the Lotus Casino, he was placed with the Avengers.

Nico wasn't that happy with the arrangement, as he had been hoping that they would assign him somewhere where he wouldn't be in the public eye, but he was dealing with it.

Against Fury's wishes, Tony had announced to the reporters that had taken to surrounding Stark Tower, in the hope of spotting the Avengers, that they had gotten a new member. Nico was furious after discovering this. He didn't want the attention. How was he supposed to do his job if reporters were following him around?

He had yet to be seen though, as Fury hadn't given the team any assignments. They were an emergency task force, and there hadn't been any need for the Avengers involvement since the day of the battle.

Nico had taken to shadow travelling to camp when Stark got too annoying, or the constant glares he received from Thor got to be too much for him to take calmly. The Avengers had all decided to live in the tower, as it had become their headquarters. The Captain, Bruce, and Thor, who had returned to Midgard after delivering the Tesseract and Loki to his father, didn't actually have anywhere else to live. Nico didn't have a home, if you didn't count Camp, and he usually spent his time wandering the world, staying wherever he found somewhere to sleep. When Tony had asked him if he had wanted to stay, he had reluctantly agreed. Sure, he would be forced to spend more time with them, but the free food WAS tempting...

All the demigods, excluding Nico, were under house arrest until the problems with the Mist were resolved. The monsters were taking it easy, too. They weren't too fond of the idea of discovery either, so it had been a calm couple of weeks.

Nico returned to the Tower, which was almost fully repaired, except for the name, which Tony had decided to leave as just the A, just in time to see Fury walk in, his leather coat flapping behind him.

"People," Fury announced, "Staff meeting, we got a problem."

Tony jumped to his feet, from where he had been lounging on a sofa, "No! Last time you gave us bad news, I ended up adopting an Emo Ninja, who's afraid of dandelions!"

Nico growled, his dark eyes flashing, and stalked forwards to loom over Tony. "I thought we discussed what would happen if you called me that name again, Tin Man..."

Tony scoffed, and waved a hand dismissively, "I'm sorry, you don't scare me anymore. Now that I know your secret weakness, I own you."

Nico summoned his Stygian Iron sword from the shadows, before Fury interrupted. "Meeting. Now." He paused for a moment, "Dandelions?" Nico's eyebrow twitched, and his face morphed into a glare.

"My step-mother," he grumbled."I will send you to the pits of Tartarus, you bastard," he hissed at Tony. Tony pulled a dandelion out of his pocket, and brandished it dramatically at Nico.

"Get thee behind me, Satan!" he cried, waving the flower in Nico's face. Nico's eyes widened and he took a small step back, before he summoned Hellfire to his right hand, preparing to blow the cursed flower to oblivion.

"If you two don't stop this idiocy right now, I will MAKE you stop. The meeting. Now." Fury's single uncovered eye narrowed menacingly.

Tony hastily shoved the flower back into his pocket, which Nico eyed warily, before extinguishing the flames that wreathed his hand. He had gotten the hang of his new power over the last couple of days, and his aimed had improved greatly. It had only taken the destruction of several more walls.

"Jarvis," Tony called out, "Inform the others that Fury's come to visit. We're about to have a tea party, and their presence is required."

"Yes sir," Jarvis said, "But I'm afraid you used the last of the tea to turn Agent Barton's shower water brown, and it has yet to be replaced." Tony smiled fondly at the memory of his last prank. The agents needed to loosen up a little, and Tony was only too happy to help.

"Just tell them to get their asses up here," Fury ordered irritably. He was not in the mood to deal with Stark, but when was he ever?

"Yes, Di-rectum Furby," Jarvis crisp voice replied, before falling silent. Tony paled when he saw the look Fury was giving him.

The others filed into the room, and Clint chuckled silently at the sight of Tony Stark awkwardly edging away from a murderous looking Fury. Sabotaging Jarvis had been difficult, but revenge was sweet...

When they were all seated in the many chairs that littered the penthouse living space, Fury walked to the centre of the room, and clasped his hands behind his back.

He gazed at them all before he began to speak, "At 1900 hours, we picked up an anomaly in Central Park. We sent out agents to investigate, but almost immediately after they confirmed that something was going on, they were captured. From what we saw in the satellite photographs, areas of earth seem to have been displaced. While odd, this isn't the problem. It seems that the piles of soil have to come to life, and from the loss of our agents, we have deduced that they are hostile."

"Earthborn," Nico muttered. "You're going to need celestial bronze bullets."

He had heard about the 'Earthborn' from Percy, who had encountered a group during one of his more recent quests. Percy had told him that they were extremely powerful monsters, and that he doubted any demigod, save a child of the Big Three, would be capable of defeating more than one of them without back-up.

"Whatever they are, I want you to find them, kill them, and if you can, rescue the missing agents." Fury said, "Suit up."

Nico jumped to his feet, and shadow-travelled to his room, which he had painted black. He opened a cupboard and pulled out his new armour, given to him by the Hephaestus Cabin. He would rather have used his old armour, but Fury had bluntly informed him that if he was going to be a 'superhero', he couldn't wear armour that caused the people he was supposed to be rescuing to piss themselves in terror.

The new armour was black. He had demanded that. If he had to wear it, it had to be black. The armour was also made of Stygian Iron from the Underworld, but unfortunately, in Nico's opinion, it had been augmented, so it no longer emitted an aura of fear and death. It consisted of a Greek style chest plate, gauntlets, greaves and boots, with a number of holsters for his Stygian Iron weaponry. Instead of a helmet, though, they had made him a sort of mask that covered his nose and mouth, but left his eyes and above visible, in order to keep his identity secret, but so that he still looked, as they put it, 'badass'. There was also a sheath along his spine for his sword, so he didn't have to constantly summon it back and forth from the shadows. He had decided not to ask for a shield, as he could simply use his shadows to block blows from his enemies.

He quickly donned his armour, shoving various daggers and throwing knives into their various sheaths, before shadow-travelling back to the main room. The others had just arrived as well, and as soon as they were all assembled, Nico transported them to the coordinates Fury gave him.

They appeared in Central Park just in time to witness a huge boulder fly through the air, and almost crush a group of people attempting to flee the area. It was only almost, because Nico quickly shadow-travelled over to them, and erected a huge dome shaped mass of shadows which surrounded them, causing the boulder to rebound off.

Nico staggered under the force of the blow, but managed to stay on his feet, something he wouldn't have been able to manage before the 'upgrade', much less stay conscious. As soon as it hit the ground, he dropped the barrier, nodding to the people he had protected, who were staring at him in awe. Nico travelled back over to the Avengers, and asked the Steve, "So, how should we go about doing this, oh Wise Leader?"

Steve grimaced at the title, but said, "Stark and Thor, you get in the air, try take down as many as those things as you can, Natasha and Clint, you be our snipers, and see if you can find the missing agents. If anything manages to sneak up on us, shoot 'em down with those shiny new bullets you got. Nico, Banner and I will be the ground assault. We'll try to beat these guys down long enough for air and sniper to finish them off. Understood?"

They all nodded in agreement, and Tony and Thor took off, while Natasha and Clint sprinted in the direction of tree cover.

Even though it was night, there were still a lot of people in the park, but luckily, most of them were out of the battlefield.

"Banner," Steve said to Bruce, "Now would be a good time for you to get angry." Bruce nodded and after removing his shirt, closed his eyes.

Nico and Steve decided to get moving, and ran in the direction of the sounds of destruction that were coming from up ahead. What they saw caused them to halt in shock. Over 50 Earthborn were spread out below them.

Each of them was about 8 ft tall, and they had six arms apiece. They were dressed only in leather loincloths, and they were heading towards Nico and Steve.

"I think I would be more shocked if we hadn't just fought aliens the other week," Steve said. He swallowed, before continuing in a confident voice. "We can take 'em." He looked to his side to check if Nico was alright, only to find him gone, and halfway down the slope, pulling his sword of his back. Steve cursed and ran after him.

Nico sprinted to the Earthborn closest to him, and flipped into the air. He landed on the Earthborn's shoulders, and proceeded to separate its head from its body. He didn't have time to admire his handiwork before another two attacked. He sliced open ones stomach, causing soil to spill out before it collapsed, a pile of dirt once more. He summoned Hellfire to his free hand, and blasted the second, before swivelling 360 degrees, setting alight the Earthborn unfortunate enough to be within range.

He stopped the flames after he had reduced about seven to dirt. The flames took a lot of energy, which made them unsuitable for long use. He moved through the Earthborn, slashing and parrying the many arms that tried to grab him, before creating shadows which he then used to destroy any of his enemies his strikes had failed to kill.

The others weren't doing to badly, either. Tony was blowing up the Earthborn with his numerous weapons, as well as dropping from the sky onto the unsuspecting, crushing them with his armour.

Thor was using similar technique, dropping down from the sky, but with his hammer hitting the Earthborn first. The power of these attacks caused the ground to shake with the force, and after he had killed a few of them using this attack, he dropped to the ground, summoning lightning and bludgeoning the Earthborn to a pulp with his hammer.

Clint and Natasha were taking down one Earthborn after the other. Arrows and bullets slammed into them, causing them to disintegrate almost instantly.

Steve was using his shield to decapitate them, also beating them down until they collapsed from the assault.

The Hulk, who had just arrived, was doing what he did best. Smashing. The Earthborn didn't stand a chance.

All too soon, the Earthborn had reverted to piles of dirt, and the heroes gathered in the centre of the destruction, except for the Hulk, who had run back the way they had arrived, presumably to relocate his clothing.

"Well," Nico said, a little short for breath, "That was easy."

The others laughed, and Tony asked, "Anyone find the missing agents?"

Natasha nodded. "We found them in the trees back there," she pointed where she and Clint had been shooting from, "They're conscious, but they were tied up. We released them before we started shooting."

Steve nodded, and raised his hand to his ear to inform SHIELD that they had successfully completed their mission. Bruce returned, wearing his shirt once again.

Tony was trying to convince the others to come eat at the repaired Shawarma restaurant again, when Nico held up his hand.

"Is it me," he said slowly, "Or did it suddenly get really cold?"

They had just enough time to look up, before a blue giant dropped from the sky with a flash of light. The Avengers rolled out of the way, and prepared for battle.

The blue giant looked terrifying. Huge, with glowing red eyes, and hands that had morphed themselves into ice spears, it was a fearsome sight.

"Jotun," Thor growled, "Why, and how, are you here?"

The Frost Giant smiled mirthlessly, "You should have allowed the treasonous Prince to destroy us. Now we shall have our revenge, for our world, and for our King. As to how, let us just say, you didn't really think the Bifröst was unique, did you?"

Thor yelled angrily and attacked. The others watched as the hammer crushed the giant's chest, causing blood to leak from its shattered body. It fell to the ground, laughing croakily. "I am but the messenger," it gurgled weakly, "More will come, and with **Her** as our ally, this planet will fall, Asgard will fall, and you will all regret the day you ever dared slander the name 'Jotunheim'..." The giant died, its threat still hanging in the air.

Steve put a hand of Thor's shoulder, pulling him away from the body. "Come on," he said, "We need to make sure no bystanders were injured in the battle. Leave this for SHIELD to clean up."

As they gathered once again so Nico could bring them home, the reporters arrived. All of a sudden, they were surrounded, cameras flashing, microphones shoved in their faces, and questions were screamed at them from every direction.

"Mr. Stark," one woman said, "Are you going to pay for the damage you caused Central Park?" Tony grinned at her.

"Nope," he said, "Anyone got any good questions? We're in a bit of a hurry, so if you don't mind..."

The shouting started again, nothing discernible, until one man managed to make himself heard above the rest. "Who's the newest Avenger? You mentioned him at the press conference last week, is that masked man him?"

Suddenly, all the reporters converged on Nico, bombarding him with questions. What was his name, was he a mutant, was he an alien, did he eat people, the list went on and on. It was too much for him.

He caused a wave of terror to travel through the crowd, making shadows coil around his body, and they fell silent.

"My real name isn't important," he said calmly. "All you need to know is this: I'm a member of the Avengers, and I'm here to protect you. That's it. Now, unless any of you have important information or whatever, I really couldn't care less."

A brave reporter decided to ask a question; even though she was feeling the worst fear she had ever felt in her life. "Wha-what sh-should w-we call y-you?" she stammered.

Nico paused for a moment. He already had enough titles; he didn't really want to add another to the list.

"You can call me... Ghost King."

**Thanks for reading, review if you want. **


	6. Chapter 6

"Ghost King?" Tony laughed, after they had arrived home, "Why did you pick that? You're not exactly the royal type."

Nico scowled, "I _am_ the Ghost King, Stark. I didn't just make that up. That's one of my titles in the Underworld."

Tony blinked, before asking, "There's a king of ghosts? And you're him?" He thought about it for a second, "Now I _really_ don't want to die."

Nico's scowl deepened. Stark was really pissing him off today. He thought the name worked. It was the only title he actually didn't mind being called. It was _much _better than being called Zombie Dude...  
Nico turned to Thor. Something the Frost Giant had said to Thor was bothering him.

"Thor, this 'Treasonous Prince' the giant spoke off, it's Loki, isn't it?" Thor's expression became depressed as he thought of his brother, who was currently being held prisoner in Asgard. He knew that Loki deserved the punishment, but he could not help but think that if only he had been a better brother, Loki would not have been corrupted by evil.

"Yes, it is Loki. For those of you who don't know, my brother is not related to me by blood. His real father is, or rather, was, Laufey, King of Jotunheim. Loki killed him in his bid to become king. If any of the Frost Giants had not thought him a traitor for being a child of Asgard, they most certainly despise him now."

Steve rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Do you think maybe Loki knows who this '**Her**' is? He is a Frost Giant, maybe he knows what they might be planning."

The depressed look on Thor's face immediately transformed to one of anger.  
"My brother is NOT a Frost Giant! Though you may think otherwise, I do not believe him to be truly evil. I have known Loki my whole life. We were raised together... We have fought together... And now we have fought each other. The good person I know Loki to be is still in there. If only I had succeeded in helping him..."

Steve winced in sympathy. "It wasn't your fault, Thor. Loki made his own choices, and the fact that even now you are still trying to help him just proves to us that you are a good person." Thor smiled faintly at the Captain in gratitude.

Nico cleared his throat loudly. "As touching as this scene is, we've got more important things to discuss. If there's a chance Loki might know something, we have to question him. Thor, will you take me to Asgard?"

Thor glared at Nico, "Why would I bring a Greek to my home? If I must take anyone, it should be one of my team mates that I trust. I do not trust you, son of death. Why should I bring you?"

Nico raised an eyebrow, "'Cause in the only member of this team who won't try to smash Loki's face when I see him, maybe?" The other Avengers nodded at this. None of them were big fans of Loki. What he had done to Coulson could never be forgiven.

Thor seemed to realise this as well. "Perhaps you are right. That is an evil Loki is guilty of that I cannot ignore. The Son of Coul was my friend also."

"Okay then, how do we get there? That Bifröst thing the giant was talking about?" Nico asked. He hoped it would be like shadow-travel, for the sake of his stomach.

Thor nodded, "We will need to locate an area of flat ground out in the open so that Heimdall can locate us."

"Consider it done." Nico turned to the other Avengers. It was obvious they didn't much like the idea of asking Loki for help, but desperate times, and all that. "Tell Fury where we've gone, will you?"

Tony looked affronted, "No way! You tell him! He's going to be really angry. You're on your own, pal."

Nico rolled his eyes. Fury had nothing on Persephone. If he could survive her, he could survive anything. Godsdamn dandelions...

He grabbed Thor's arm, and shadow-travelled them to one of the fields near where Camp was 'hidden'. Luckily, even with the Mist gone, it was hard to find, but if it hadn't been for SHIELD covering up for them, they would have undoubtedly been discovered by other mortals.

After Thor had steadied himself from the abrupt shadow-travel, he looked straight into Nico's eyes. "I may not like you, Hades son, but I will advise you not to do anything drastic whilst we are in Asgard. We have long memories, and there are _none_ with fond memories of our war. You would do well to remember that." Nico nodded grouchily, and Thor turned his attention to the sky.

"Heimdall, open the Bifröst!" he yelled dramatically at the sky. Nico had only enough time to raise an eyebrow before they were sucked into rainbow tunnel. Less than a minute later, they were spat out into a dome shaped bronze coloured room. Though he managed to remain on his feet, Nico was shaken. He shuddered in disgust. _Rainbows..._

Before them stood a man in gold armour with golden eyes. 'Heimdall' nodded his head slightly. "Odinson," he said, his deep voice reverberating through the room. His gaze then fell on Nico. "Prince of the Underworld." Nico's eyes widened but he nodded back. Though scary, the guy was really awesome. "You have come to question Loki Laufeyson. I would advise you to make haste. The Greek would do well to remain unnoticed."

Thor nodded in understanding. "I had thought as much. Do not worry, we will only visit my brother and then leave immediately." Thor and Nico quickly walked past. There was no point in delaying.

An hour had passed before they finally reached the dungeons. Thor had had to use all is knowledge of the layout of the palace, and his authority over the guards to smuggle Nico in. Though they may have a treaty now, there was much bitterness between the two races, and neither Thor nor Nico wished to be responsible for the continuation of the Pantheon war.

After Thor had dismissed the guards standing outside the cell, they entered. It was a small room, and it contained only one chair, on which Loki sat. He looked terrible, his armour scratched, and his hair dishevelled, yet he still managed to be intimidating.

"My dear Thor," Loki said, grinning widely, "Welcome to my humble abode. Would you care for a drink? I know I would." He didn't so much as glance in Nico's direction.

Thor scowled at his brothers words. "You have brought this on yourself, brother. Perhaps if you had not succumbed to your lust for power, you would not be in this situation." Loki's grin transformed into a snarl.

"I am not your brother, _Odinson_," he spat venomously, and his eyes flashed with rage, "I am not even Asgardian. I was to be King! And you stole that from me."

"It was not yours in the first place, brother!" Thor yelled angrily, "The mortals are not things for you to own, and until you understand that, you will know no happiness." Loki curled his lip in disgust.

"You really are an idiot, bro-Thor," he corrected hastily. "You assume I want to be happy."

Thor was about to retort when Nico spoke up, "We're actually here to ask you a couple of things. You don't mind, do you?"

Loki faltered for a second. _Would he mind?_

"Who are you, mortal?" he asked curiously. He had not noticed the young man enter, he only had only noticed the buffoon known as Thor.

"Not mortal so much," Nico said, "Nico di Angelo, son of Hades." Loki raised an eyebrow at this. A Greek? He had always suspected they were still alive, but he had never said anything. He had thought the war pointless anyway.

"Very well, son of Hades, ask what you will. Perhaps I will even answer." Loki didn't know why he had practically agreed to answer the boy's questions. Perhaps it was the feeling of meeting a kindred spirit. One who had known pain and betrayal as intimately as Loki himself.

Thor was rather shocked at this turn of events. Loki co-operating? Thor was confused to say the least.

"Do you know anything about an alliance between the Frost Giants, and a women addressed to as '**Her**' on earth?" Nico asked.

Loki's lip curled again. "And I would know about this because I am a Frost Giant, yes? All of us must somehow know _everything_ that is going on. Of course," Loki said sarcastically. This demigod was just like the others.

"Actually, I mostly wanted to ask you 'cause you seemed like the kind of person that would know about this kind of thing. And I wanted to see what all the hype was about... Actually, you don't seem that bad to me."

Loki gaped at him. Didn't seem that bad? He had tried to take over the boy's planet! Nico shrugged, guessing what Loki was thinking. "The bad guy from the last war we demigods had, Luke, turned out to be a good guy in the end. He had a shitty life, and it drove him to evil, but in the end, he sacrificed himself to save his family. You kind of remind me of him, and from what I heard, your life was kinda shitty too. Your dad's an asshole."

At this Thor interrupted. "My father is not an 'asshole' as you say! He is a wise and caring king, and he-"

"Dude, your dad kidnaps babies. That's fucked up." This comment caused Loki to laugh. The Allfather being insulted by a child. He had not been so amused in centuries.

Nico turned back to Loki, "Anyway, I know how you feel. My father favoured my sister over me for much of my childhood. He always told me she was better than me, and that he would rather I was her than myself."

"And you proved him wrong, yes?" Loki asked.

Nico winced. "No, she... died. When I was ten. I loved her a lot, even if my dad did like her better."

Loki felt guilty almost immediately. Wait, since when did _he_, Loki, feel guilty over a pathetic mortal's plight? They were sheep, their lives were meaningless, they were meant to be ruled... weren't they?

Such a short conversation with this Greek, and Loki was questioning everything he had come to believe since his discovery of his true heritage. For the first time in many years, Loki began to consider his actions.

Thor watched all of this with wide eyes. He could see the change in Loki already. Seen what this Greek had managed to achieve so easily, when he could not even get Loki to admit their familial ties.

"I do not know of an alliance, son of Hades, but I know for a fact that the Chitauri did discover a being of great power before they invaded Midgard. They were not opposed by it, so they chose to ignore it. I believe this being to be the one you seek. It was female I think, though I am not positive," Loki said softly.

Nico grinned at him, "Thanks anyway. Your information is most helpful" He looked at Thor, who still looked shocked from the sight of his brother having a civilised conversation with another being. "What will become of Loki?"

Thor cleared his throat before speaking. "I believe that a suitable punishment is being created for him. His attack on Midgard was not deemed overly important by much of Asgard, as we have not had many dealings with your world in many years. Even thought he almost caused a war with the Frost Giants as well, Loki is a Prince, one who is known for his tricks. They do not see Loki as much of a threat to Asgard, and so I doubt they will do anything worse than imprisoning him for a few hundred years."

Loki frowned at the 'anything worse' part. Being locked up in a tiny cell didn't sound like much fun to him.

Nico frowned thoughtfully, "Perhaps, Loki could serve his punishment by helping defend Earth from this new threat that seems to be rising. I'd sure appreciate another powerful Asgardian warrior defending the world." Thor considered these words.

"My father will like it, but I doubt the Avengers would appreciate Loki working with them. We will have to convince them that he is there to help."

Nico smirked, "I already have a plan for that."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Do I get any say in this? I don't want to defend those stupid mortals, they took my staff."

Both Nico and Thor ignored him. "Son of Hades, you will stay with my brother. I will request this punishment of my father. I will return in less than an hour, wait here till then." With that, he swept from the room, his long cape billowing dramatically.

Nico exchanged a look with Loki. "His cape is really stupid," Nico muttered. Loki nodded in agreement. His cape was_ way_ cooler.

When Thor returned with the news of Odin's approval, and with a pair of gauntlets, and after he fastened them to Loki's forearms, they headed back to Heimdall. The gauntlets suppressed Loki's powers, and they could only be removed by Thor. Nico figured he would be able to remove them if he _really _wanted to, but he'd rather wait until there was an emergency. He might accidently end up blowing them up.

On their way back to the Bifröst, the passed a cloaked Asgardian who was returning from his own journey across the stars. As he passed, he knocked into Nico. Nico glared but did nothing, Thor had asked him not to draw attention to himself. Before he could move on, however, the cloaked man grabbed his arm. The others continued, unaware of his predicament.

"Greek filth," the cloaked man hissed, disgust in his voice, "**She** will destroy your gods. They are nothing compared to **Her**, and your gods will regret the day they ever thought to defy **Her**. You will all die, and we will laugh at your downfall." With that, he released Nico's arm, and disappeared into a cloud of mist. Nico snarled at thin air, before hurrying to catch up with the others.

Whoever this 'mysterious lady' was seemed to have made alliances everywhere. First the monsters, then the Frost Giants, now an Asgardian? Nico's stomach clenched with worry. He would tell the others when they got back to earth.

The Avenger's reactions to the return of Loki far exceeded Nico's expectations. From the moment they appeared in Tony's living room, all hell broke loose. Tony had all the Towers security weapons trained on him, Steve had grabbed Tony's trusty killer lamp of the table, Clint and Natasha had pulled out guns, and Bruce had stood up, preparing himself to transform if things got hairy.

Thor stepped forward hurriedly. "Friends!" he bellowed, "Do not attack. My brother is here to help us fight this new evil."

"We don't need his help," hissed Clint, his gun aimed on Loki's heart, "He killed Phil!"

Nico stepped forward too, "So if Coulson was alive, you'd consider accepting his help?"

Tony scoffed, "Sure, if Coulson came back from the dead, I'm sure we all wouldn't mind."

Nico grinned darkly. "Good," he said, before raising his voice. "Alecto! Come here a second!"

The shadows on the corner of the room rippled before a large, leathery, winged shape burst out.

"You summoned me, my Lord Prince," she said respectfully. The Avengers had all re-aimed their weapons at the new threat.

"What the heck is that, Nico?" Steve asked in horror.

"Her name is Alecto, and she's one of the three Furies. Put down your weapons before she decides to teach you a lesson."

"Detention!" Alecto cackled menacingly, "The horrid children need to be punished!" Nico sighed. She really needed to stop impersonating teachers. It had ruined school for him for life.

"Alecto, am I able to return the dead to life?" he asked her.

Alecto gazed at him thoughtfully. "I would think so. As Prince of the Underworld, you have dominion over much of death. However, if you wish to take the soul, you will have to go get it yourself, and convince it to come back. No easy feat, and if it is the soul I think it is, he has achieved a hero's death. He will need plenty of convincing to give up his peace."

Nico gave her his thanks before dismissing her, and she disappeared back into the shadows. Nico returned his attention to his fellow Avengers.

"You're a Prince?" Tony asked incredulously, "And you can bring people back from the dead?"

"Seems so," Nico shrugged. "If I bring Coulson back, will you guys agree to accept Loki's help? He's actually pretty cool."

The Avengers exchanged glances. As much as they hated Loki, they missed Coulson. They came to a decision.

"If you actually manage to bring Coulson back, then we'll work with him. Otherwise we shoot him in the head," Natasha said. Loki rolled his eyes at this, but did not say anything. He would rather his brain stay in his skull.

Nico smirked victoriously, until she continued, "But only if you agree to one more thing."

Nico scowled, but motioned for her to continue. He could already tell he wasn't going to like this.

"We're coming with you."

Nico face palmed. He didn't like it.

**I'll try update again tomorrow, thanks for reading. Review and whatnot.**


	7. Chapter 7

Nico stared at them in disbelief. "You morons. You do realise that mortals have to be dead before they can enter the Underworld. You know, 'cause it's the realm of the DEAD and all. Emphasise on the DEAD."

Tony looked crestfallen. "Can't you, I don't know, smuggle us in somehow?" Nico rolled his eyes.

"I could kill you, how about that? Yeah, I like that idea..."

Tony grumbled at him while the others looked crestfallen. They wanted to rescue Coulson more than anything. He had sacrificed himself for his friends, and that was something the Avengers would never forget.

Nico sighed. "Why don't you tie Loki to a chair till I get back? I know it will make you all feel better. I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, he shadow-travelled away, but not before he saw the Avengers begin to advance on the wide eyed Loki. "Bastard..." Loki muttered.

When Nico arrived in the Underworld, it was to chaos. His father's palace was on fire, as were the fields of Asphodel. Ghosts were streaming away from the fires, silently screaming in anguish. Nico searched the area wildly. "Alecto, what the HELL happened? Why didn't you tell me the Underworld was being attacked?!"

Alecto materialised beside him. "It was not like this when I left, my Lord. There must have been a surprise attack while I was in the mortal realm. Nico stared at her incredulously. "You were only gone five minutes!"

"And that is why this situation is so serious. They attacked and overwhelmed us in such a short time."

"How?" Nico asked.

"See for yourself, young Prince. It seems our enemy managed to release all the monsters in Tartarus."

It was then that Nico actually took in his surroundings properly. Monsters were everywhere, slashing ghosts, and destroying any buildings that stood in their paths. Hellhounds, empousai, drakons, every monster Nico had ever faced was present, and destroying his home.

"What of the Titans?" Nico asked urgently.

"Those still strong enough to oppose us at the after the war were imprisoned in the deepest levels. I don't believe the infiltrator managed to reach them before the alarm was raised."

Nico breathed a sigh of relief. "Well that's not so bad." Alecto just shook her head.

"Thousands of monsters were released. I suggest that you assist your father in destroying them so he can close Tartarus once again. Nico nodded, and sprinted in the direction of the biggest congregation of monsters. Agent Coulson would have to wait.

Five hours later, and Nico was exhausted. He had summoned so many skeletons, he had lost count. He did know it was well over a hundred. His head was throbbing from the strain of controlling so many shadows, the headache aching sharply just behind his eyes. His hands stung from wielding so much Hellfire, and his sword was soaked in blood. Yet still he battled on.

Less than 200 monsters remained from the army of thousands, and even with the assistance of the undead guards of the Underworld, it was Nico who had done most of the fighting because the guards were overwhelmed. He strained to keep his eyes open as he stabbed a Cyclops through its stomach. It disappeared into a pile of dust, and Nico moved on. He had no energy left to use his powers, but he still had his sword. He was still lethal. More monsters were felled, but one hellhound managed to latch onto his shoulder. Nico slashed at it, and it yelped, before fleeing. Even injured, Nico was terrifying.

Nico knew he couldn't last much longer. He could sense the monsters reforming in Tartarus, and he wished his father would hurry up. What was Hades _doing_? Just as the thought crossed his mind, there was a thunderous booming sound. All the monsters paused in their attacks, and Nico managed to kill another ten before they retaliated. By the sounds of it, his father had succeeded.

Hades was annoyed. His home had been attacked, and Tartarus had been breached. It was a problem even for a god as powerful of Hades. On top of that, it turned out the infiltrator had managed to release the Titan Krios.

Yes, Hades was not pleased. After he had finally defeated Krios, he then had to close Tartarus, which was no small feat. But Hades prevailed. He breathed a sigh of relief at the resounding boom that announced his success. He teleported himself to the fields of Asphodel, where he knew his son was battling the monster army.

He could hardly recognise Nico when he saw him, dressed as he was in armour that he had not seen before, and with his lower face covered by a mask. He was also covered in blood, the majority of which belonged to the monsters he had slain, but a fair amount of it was his own. Nico's left shoulder was mangled from what looked like a vicious bite, and his arm hung limply at his side. He was favouring his left foot, and a long scratched marred his pale forehead from eyebrow to scalp, causing blood to run into eyes that were burning with black fury.

Hades quickly got to work, destroying the remaining monsters with a wave of darkness, before catching his son, who had sunk to the ground, panting heavily.

"Nico, you have done well. To have killed so many monsters proves how strong a demigod you have become. I am very proud of you."

Nico smiled faintly at him before letting his eyes fall closed. "Next time, could you work a little faster? I was getting old here."

Hades swatted the back of Nico's head before helping him to his feet, handing Nico some Ambrosia. This seemed to wake him up a bit, and heal his wounds a bit. "You need to sleep Nico, after expending so much power, you need to recover."

Nico pushed away from his father, and began to head in the direction of the Isles of the Blest. "Sorry, dad, no time. I'm actually here on a mission. I have to bring a SHIELD agent back to life so the Avengers will let Loki join their gang." Hades sighed loudly.

"Very well, I will allow you to raise this mortal, but only because of the work you did today. You will need to lead him from the Underworld without shadow-travel, as otherwise he will not be able to come back to life. Lead him to his body, and donate a little blood. That should do the trick."

Nico nodded in thanks. "See you later, Dad." Hades watched his son limp away. He truly was a fierce hero.

Nico finally arrived at the Isles of the Blest, exhaustion blurring his vision. He searched the beautiful town until he found the small white cottage he had been looking for. He knocked on the door, and leant against the doorframe.

Less than a minute later, a man in a suit opened the door. Nico raised an eyebrow. Spirits always materialised in the clothes they felt most comfortable wearing in life. Nico figured he shouldn't have thought anything else of an employee of SHIELD.

Phil Coulson raised his own eyebrow at the sight of the armoured, bloody figure standing before him. The Prince of the Underworld, he guessed, from the Intel he had gathered since his arrival. Once a spy, always a spy.

"Mr. Di Angelo, I presume." Coulson kept his voice neutral, and his expression void of emotion.

"Yeah," Nico said. "Sorry to wreck your afterlife and all, but I need you come back to life and rejoin the Avengers."

Coulson blinked in surprise. "... Alright."

Nico smirked. "Thought so. You SHIELD guys don't seem the type to enjoy an eternity of peace."

Coulson smiled at him. "The food here is terrible. When do we leave?"

"Right now. Come on, Penguin Man, we've quite a walk to go, and I'm already running late."

Coulson sighed at the insult. He always got stuck with the children.

Another two hours later, and they were finally back in the world of the living, outside the stone entrance to the Underworld in Central Park. The sun was beginning to rise, causing the ghostly form of Agent Coulson to shimmer. Nico closed his eyes and breathed in and out deeply. "I can sense your body a couple of miles west of here. We need to hurry. I'm not sure how long you can last here in this form."

When they arrived at the graveyard and located Coulson's gravestone, Nico gestured and the ground in front of them. The ground parted before him, revealing a wooden coffin. Nico jumped down into the grave, and prised the lid open. The smell of rotten flesh wafted out, but this didn't faze Nico. When it came to dead bodies, it would be ridiculous if Nico was a wimp. He'd never live it down.

He motioned for Phil to lower himself into his body. Coulson wrinkled his ghostly nose, before lying in his corpse. Once he was inside, Nico took off one of his gloves, and unsheathed one of his many daggers. He sliced his palm open, and allowed blood to cascade onto the body. He began to chant in ancient Greek, and Coulson's skin began to rejuvenate, becoming fresher, the decomposition fading away.

Nico felt his already low energy levels deplete even further as his power forced itself into the dead organs, causing them to pulse and beat once again with life. With a bright flash of light, Nico finished his chant, and collapsed ungracefully to the ground. He blearily opened his eyes in time to see Coulson sit up, and sniff his funeral suit.

"A bit ripe, but what would you expect after being buried for 2 weeks?" Coulson said, a self satisfied smile on his face, "Alive again. Who would have thought?"

Nico just groaned in reply. He just wanted to go to sleep, but there was one thing left to do before he lost consciousness. He grabbed Coulson, and dived into one of the grave's shadows.

They appeared in Tony's penthouse, in front of Clint and Natasha, who were cleaning their weapons on one of the tables. The assassins leapt to their feet at the sight of a dishevelled Coulson, supporting a bloody Nico. Nico waved at them drunkenly before collapsing to the floor, already asleep.

Natasha and Clint stood frozen for a second, staring at Coulson. Before this moment, they had not truly believed Nico could truly bring their friend back to life, yet here he was, in the flesh, if rather stinky.

Nico groaned in his sleep. The agents looked down at him, and watched as a pool of blood began to spread across the floor from his reopened shoulder wound. They hurried to his side, and called Banner, who sprinted into the room, eyes widening in shock at the state Nico was in.

"What happened?" he exclaimed, as he dropped to knees beside Nico's prone form. It was Coulson who answered.

"He collected me looking like this, though his shoulder wasn't bleeding then. I heard the sounds of a battle coming from other side of the Underworld. An army of monsters, I think."

Bruce and Clint heaved Nico upright, and carried him from the room towards the medical bay. They needed to stop the bleeding fast.

Nico slowly regained consciousness, opening his eyes, and then shutting them again because of the harsh lights. He groaned from the pain that seemed to be coming from every part of his body. Even his hair hurt. He slowly sat up, holding his throbbing skull. The worse pain seemed to be originating from his shoulder. He felt stiff and sore. He remembered the hellhound, and groaned again.

He clumsily got to his feet, and found himself in his room. He would kill whoever had left the lights on. He limped to a cupboard and rummaged around until he found his supply of godly food. He ate some Ambrosia, and drank Nectar from his flask. Immediately he felt better, his already half healed wounds now looking days old. He took off the now unnecessary bandages, and went into his bathroom to take a quick shower. He washed away the blood and grime from his battles, and got dressed into black jeans and a black t-shirt. He then began his search for his team mates.

He found them in the kitchen, where they were eating pizza. When they saw him, they all got to their feet.

"What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting," Steve said in concern. Nico scowled and waved away the comment.

"I'm fine now. Where's Coulson?"

Tony smiled at him happily. "He went to see Fury and freak out the rest of SHIELD. He said he'd be back to see you later. You _did _bring him back to life. Speaking of which, it mustn't be that difficult to do if _you're_ able to do it."

Nico snarled and threw one of the pizza slices on the table at Tony. It smacked into his face, and slowly slid off, landing on the table with a soft _splat_.

Tony picked up an apple and threw it at Nico, who caught it effortlessly, and threw it back at Tony, where it hit him in the head. The force of the throw caused Tony to fall backwards, and trip over the chair behind him, where he landed on the floor in a heap.

Steve put down his own slice of pizza, before walking over to Nico. "Are you okay?" he asked, "Why did it take you so long? How were you injured? Phil said something about a battle?"

Nico rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, someone released all the monsters from Tartarus and sent them to attack my father." He pointed at his shoulder, "Hellhound. I had to help destroy them all before they destroyed the Underworld. Wasn't much fun..."

"I would think not," said Loki. Nico turned around and spotted him. Loki was tied to a chair in the corner of the room. He looked tired, and someone had drawn an elaborate moustache on his face.

"Hey Loki, how's life?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "You left me at the mercy of my enemies, when you _knew_ they possessed Sharpies. I will have my revenge."

Nico stared at him incredulously, "I came up with a punishment for you that didn't involve you being locked up for centuries, I went to the Underworld to bring back a guy _you_ murdered back to life and ended up killing thousands of monsters so _these _guys wouldn't kill _you_, so don't you get pissy at me." He paused for a moment. "And I didn't know they had Sharpies, if that makes you feel any better."

Loki sighed, but nodded. "Could you at least untie me? The mortal has been returned to life, after all."

The Avengers, save Thor and Nico, glared at Loki in disgust, but did nothing as Nico grabbed a knife from the table and sawed through the ropes binding Loki to the chair.

Loki stood up and stretched, and then inclined his head at Nico.

"Thank you, son of Hades, I appreciate all you have done for me. Know that I _will_ repay you."

Nico smirked at the looks of shock the Avengers were giving him. Loki apologising? Nobody had expected that. Nico held a fist up and gestured for Loki to do the same. "No problem. We're going to be working together from now on, and as dangerous as this threat is proving itself to be, we're going to need all the help we can get." Loki cautiously fist bumped with Nico, and Nico whispered to him, "So, you're called the Trickster God, yeah? Wanna prank Thor?"

The evil grin on Nico's face was immediately mirrored by Loki.

"I believe this to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Greek," Loki whispered back to Nico.

The Avengers eyed them warily, fearing the schemes the two must be concocting at this very moment. Thor felt a prickle of unease race up his spine. Maybe they weren't planning on torturing him?

He stood up abruptly and swept from the room. If he knew Loki, he would need to guard his supply of capes.

Loki with an accomplice...

He knew dark times were coming...

**Thanks for reading, review if you want.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for all the reviews, and follows and favourites, they really make writing this worthwhile :)**

That night, Operation Cape Massacre began. After the Avengers had all retired to their rooms, Nico and Loki sneaked out of theirs, and met up in the hallway outside Thor's room. Thor had not left his room since lunch time, and Loki had informed Nico that he was most likely erecting complex traps with which to protect his capes.

At this, Nico had raised an eyebrow. These Asgardians really had a thing for capes. Even though Loki mocked Thor for his cape fetish, Nico could not help but notice how immaculate Loki's green cape was, even after weeks of imprisonment, and a day at the mercy of the Avengers.

"Nico, do you think you are able to gain us entry to Thor's room?" Loki asked.

"Pfft," Nico scoffed, "There's nothing he could do to keep me out. Shadows are everywhere." He grinned darkly.

They listened at the door to check if Thor was asleep, before silently shadow-travelling inside. The room was large, and was mostly empty, but for a large bed, and a huge closet that covered a whole wall. They could see the outline of Thor's body under the blankets on the bed, clutching his hammer tightly in his hand, even as he slept.

Nico made to walk farther into the room from where they stood in the darkened corner, but Loki held him back.

"If I know my brother- I mean Thor, then the ground here will be littered with traps. We must tread carefully, Hades son." Loki whispered to him, not wanting to awaken Thor.

Nico nodded in thanks, and waved his hand at the room in general. Immediately, smoky darkness filled the room, and thin beams of light became visible. Loki's expression morphed into one of surprise. "Thor is protecting his room through mortal means? I did not expect this. Perhaps we should retreat, and try again when the capes are less heavily guarded."

Nico shook his head, before replying quietly, "We won't get another chance like this. And anyway, this is no problem. Just give me a minute, and hold the bag." Nico handed Loki a full backpack before shrugging off his jacket, so he was left in just his t-shirt and jeans. He then walked over to the nearest beam of light and examined it closely. "They're motion detectors. My guess is he took them from Stark's lab, and that if we touch them, they'll set off an alarm. As heavy a sleeper as Thor is, I'm guessing that might wake him up."

Nico scanned the room, and smirked when he spotted a small device that was balanced on a bedside table by Thor's bed. It was the source of the Lasers. Very slowly, Nico began to manoeuvre himself through the beams. Using all the flexibility he could muster, he swerved, flipped, and slid his way through the laser beams. Loki watched on in surprise at the skill Nico was displaying.

After about a minute, a lightly panting Nico arrived at the table. He was balanced on one leg, while the other was hovering in the air, so as not to disrupt the lasers. He slowly snaked his arm through another set of lights, and clicked a small button on the side of the device. A second later, the lasers cut off. Nico breathed a quiet sigh of relief, and slowly lowered his leg to the ground. All the practice for sword fighting seemed to have paid off. He glanced down at the still sleeping Thor, who had begun to snore loudly, before slowly backing away. He crept over to the wardrobe, beckoning Loki to him. Loki grinned evilly, and opened the bag. It was full of paints, feathers and glitter. It was time to get to work.

The next morning, Nico, Loki, and the Avengers, minus Thor, were eating breakfast in the kitchen. Everyone except Nico and Loki, looked awake and refreshed from a good night's sleep. They were all eating pancakes, and talking together, and they were mostly relaxed, but for the constant mistrust of Loki that still filled the hearts of the Avengers. The casual chatter was suddenly interrupted by an exclamation of utmost anguish and despair.

Everyone jumped to their feet and sprinted in the direction of the noise, which seemed to have originated from Thor's room. No one noticed the looks of glee on Nico and Loki's faces as they ran. When they arrived in Thor's room, they were met with a sight that none of them would ever forget.

Thor was on his knees in the middle of the room, the ground around him covered in a sea of fabric.

"Why? WHY?! IS NOTHING SACRED!? OH, THE HORROR!" Thor bellowed to the heavens. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, before properly noticing the reasons behind his sorrow.

The capes surrounding him were all a shade of vibrant pink. Some of them had been decorated with My Little Pony stickers, while others looked as if they had been immersed in a lake of glitter. The only cape that Loki had managed to charm while wearing the power inhibiting gauntlets, was resting on Thor's broad shoulders. The cape had been enchanted to look like a normal cape until Thor donned it, but once it was successfully attached to his armour, however, the glamour covering it would fade, leaving its true form visible to the world.

Thor's most treasured cape, was now pink, and covered in glitter, feathers, ponies, and covered in black and green writing. The black writing repeated the phrase 'Nico was here' while the green said 'You've just been Loki'd!'.

Thor was yelling in outrage, and attempting to rip the offending garment from his shoulders, but it could not be removed. It too, Loki had managed to charm, and even though his remaining powers had been exhausted, Loki could not help but think it was worth it.

Nico and Loki collapsed to the floor, roaring with laughter, while the other Avengers attempted to suppress their amusement, but failed abysmally. The sight of the mighty Thor, storming around his room, kicking his newly styled clothing to and fro across the room, with his cape over his head as he tried to tug it off, was too much for them to handle. They continued to laugh, until Thor finally realised he had company, and rounded on his 'friends'.

"You monsters," Thor growled at his brother and Nico, "You will pay for this!" Thor held out his hand, and his hammer flew in to it. His eyes flashed with anger. "This time you have gone too far, brother."

Loki leapt to his feet, and gulped, slowly backing towards the door, his hands held p in a placating manner, "It is all mere fun and games, no need to get angry," he said calmly, forcing and innocent expression onto his face." He paused as he saw Thor lowering the hammer. "Besides," he smirked, "You look fabulous." Thor roared in fury, and leapt at Loki, who was grabbed by Nico, and they sprinted out the door, Thor hot on their heels.

This merry chase continued, Loki and Nico yelling insults back at Thor, whose cape kept blinding him with glitter, and tripping him up at inopportune times, until they reached the living area. They arrived just in time to see Fury and Coulson step out of the elevator, both their faces a serious mask.

Nico, Loki and Thor stopped, violence forgotten, and were joined by Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha and Clint. It was apparent something was wrong.

Fury studied Thor's cape, before disregarding it as unimportant, and saying, "We found out who **She** is." This was met by a moment of silence before the room erupted into chaos.

"Who is it-"

"How did you find out-"

"What do they want-"

There was a flash of light, and everyone fell silent, as weapons were pointed at the new presence.

"Ummm, I come in peace?" Hermes said questioningly.

"Lower your weapons," Nico commanded, "It's just my cousin."

"Just your cousin, my ass," Fury snorted, before addressing the god, "Lord Hermes, God of Messengers, I presume?" Hermes looked surprised at the fact that a mortal had recognized him. "I'm guessing you're here for the same reason we are. You found out who **She** was too."

Hermes scratched his head guiltily, "Actually, we kinda knew who she was from the start, but we didn't want to say anything unless the time came that **She** proved **Herself** to be a threat."

Fury raised an eyebrow at him condescendingly, "Well I think that time has come." He turned to face the Avengers. "We've had another attack."

"Where?" Nico asked, a feeling of dread growing in his chest.

Coulson looked at him with sympathy before answering. "Camp Half Blood."

"WHAT?" Nico thundered, "Camp was under attack, and you didn't tell me?" He rounded on Hermes, "Was anyone killed, what damages did we suffer, how big was the attack force, what-?"

Tony, who had had enough of not knowing what was going on, clicked his fingers, and the sound of a horn blasted through the Penthouse. Everyone covered their ears, and stopped talking. Tony clicked his fingers again, and the noise ceased.

"What the fuck, Stark?" Nico yelled.

"I don't think I'm alone in saying that I want to know what the hell it is you guys are talking about. First off, what's Camp Half Blood? And this guy in the tracksuit is a god? Are you shitting me?"

Hermes looked angry at the comment but still answered. "Camp Half Blood is a safe place where our demigod children can train to become strong heroes."

"It can't be that safe if it was attacked, now can it?" Tony said sarcastically.

Hermes glared at him, and was about to retort, when Steve asked, "As much as I'm enjoying all of you wasting time, we've got more important things to discuss. Director?"

Fury nodded at Steve, "Thank you, Captain. The entity behind the attack by 'Earthborn' in central park, and the alliance with the Frost Giants, is none other than your," he pointed at Nico, "Great-grandmother."

Nico's eyes widened in shock, "I really want you to say it's my Great-grandmother Rosa, but I'm guessing it's not." Even in such a serious situation, Fury smirked at this comment.

"You'd guess correctly, Mr. Di Angelo." Nico collapsed heavily into a nearby armchair, and buried his face in his hands.

"I thought **She** was asleep? Father said **She** was asleep..."

Hermes sighed, "**She** was, but it seems that the recent alien activity managed to wake **Her** up. That amount of power is not something that goes unnoticed by gods."

Bruce, Natasha and Clint had all fallen silent after figuring out the identity of their new enemy, but Steve and Tony had yet to figure it out.

"Who is **She**!" Tony yelled in annoyance. Steve nodded in agreement.

"_**She**_," Nico said in a low voice, "Is none other than the Earth **Herself.**.. My great-grandmother, Gaea, mother of the Titans."

Steve and Tony were silent from shock. "... Our enemy is the _Earth_?" Steve asked incredulously.

Nico lowered his hands, and stared morosely at the floor."Pretty much, yeah..."

"Don't get depressed on us now, young Emo Ninja," Tony said wisely, "We might need your help with this. Highly improbable, but the possibility is still there." Nico gave him a scowl, which morphed into a full blown glare as he realised he had been manipulated. He shook himself, stood up again, and began pacing. "She attacked Camp, Lord Hermes? Was there a reason for the attack? They must know it's impossible to get through the Camp's protection. Were they after something?" He began muttering to himself, listing of the things in Camp that a being as powerful as Gaea could possibly want.

"Nico," Hermes said softly. Nico didn't hear him, absorbed as he was in his thoughts. "Nico!"

Nico started, and looked at Hermes realization spreading over his face as he saw how serious Hermes looked. "They took something, didn't they, Lord Hermes."

Hermes nodded, and gazed at Nico, pity evident on his face. "Yes they did, Nico..."

"Well, what was it?"

Hermes sighed heavily. "... They took Perseus."

Nico stared at him, "What? What do you mean they _took_ Percy? How is that even possible? He has the curse of Achilles! He's unbeatable! Why would they take him?"

Hermes cleared his throat, "There were too many monsters. The demigods fought, but even with Percy, demigods were still falling. The monsters gave Percy an ultimatum. He would go with them, or they would continue their attack. Percy, being the fool he is, sacrificed himself, and left with the monster army. He has been taken by Gaea."

"But why?!" Nico yelled, "Why wouldshe take him? There's no way he's going to join **Her**, what does she hope to gain?"

"You," Hermes said simply, "She hopes to gain you, Nico. You are a child of the Big Three, and of the Three alive, she views you as the one most susceptible to conversion. Children of Hades are not known for their loyalty to the gods, and you are by far the most powerful child of the Underworld to be born in centuries. With you on her side, and with the combined might of monsters, Earthborn, and the Frost Giants, we would surely fall. She wants you to try to rescue him, and then she will have you too."

Nico stared at him in shock, "Me?" he whispered, "My best friend was captured because of _me_?" Nico's shock changed to rage in the blink of an eye. "Well," he hissed, the shadows around him darkening and rippling with his anger, and the whites of his eyes turned to pure black, giving him a demonic look. Everyone in the room shivered with fear that the sight of him caused, "Best not keep dear _grandmother _waiting."

**Again, review if you liked it, if you didn't, uhhh, oops?**


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is actually a serious one, violence and whatnot. Huzzah!**

"Nico, it has been decreed that you are forbidden from attempting to rescue Percy. We cannot risk losing you to Gaea's corruption." Hermes said sadly, "Percy is like a son to me, but even I know we cannot risk the whole planet for one demigod."

"I don't care if the gods have forbidden something, Hermes. Didn't stop me last time," Nico spat venomously, "I WILL go to help Percy, and there is nothing you can do about it, save killing me."

Hermes rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I thought you would say that..." He stared at Nico for a few moments. "Very well. The last time you disobeyed us, it all worked out, and we are better off because of it. We now have more warriors to help us in this fight. If we lose you, it will be disastrous, but at the same time, if we also lose Percy," he paused again, "I truly fear for our lives."

"So... you won't stop me from going?" Nico asked in confusion.

"No, Nico, I will not. I beg of you not to fail in this, for if you do, it will mean our destruction." Nico nodded at him seriously, and Hermes disappeared. Nico sighed and turned to his team. "I'm going to help Percy, and I don't care what you think."

"We want to help you, Greek," Thor said quietly, "If you are so loyal to this demigod, Perseus, than he must be worth saving. We will come with you." Nico shook his head.

"No, this is between me and Gaea. I'm not going to risk your lives for that of my cousin. This is my fight." He shadow-travelled away before they could protest. He arrived in his room, and quickly shoved his armour and weapons into a bag before disappearing again, this time to the Underworld.

He paused a moment, to catch his breath, before heading into the palace. Luckily, it seemed Hades was in Olympus discussing the new threat, because the palace was as silent as a tomb. Nico headed to his room and rummaged around until he found what he was looking for. The Map.

It had been a gift from his father after the Titan war, and it displayed the whole world, but instead of showing countries and cities, it was covered in gold dots. These dots signified monsters. Nico smirked, and quickly scanned the map for any anomalies. Almost immediately, he spotted something wrong. In the southwest of the United States, in the state of California, was a huge mass of golden dots.

Nico manipulated the map, causing it to zoom in, and he gave a bark of a laugh. Death Valley. How fitting. It seemed Gaea had made the National Park her home base.

Nico rolled the map back up and shoved it into his pocket before pulling out his armour and putting it on. He was really glad it was so comfortable, as it seemed he was wearing it more than his normal clothes. He was glad of the enchantments the Hecate cabin had put on it so that it cleaned itself every 24 hours, because if they hadn't, the armour would be encrusted with blood.

He holstered his weapons, and packed the last of his godly food into another pocket. He really needed to restock, because he only had enough for one person now, and he had a horrible feeling that Percy would be needing it more than he would. With that depressing thought, Nico entered a shadow, and stepped out into the desert.

An hour later, Nico was regretting his rash decision to travel to a desert without food or drink. _Stupid_, he thought to himself, as he trudged through the sand, grumbling as he roasted in the sun because of his black armour. He took out the Map, and searched it, having already zoomed it in to show the area close up. It showed that the largest grouping of monsters, the most likely place that Percy was being held, was right in the middle of the desert. If he kept heading in the direction he was already travelling in, he would hopefully arrive soon.

By now, the sun had begun to set, casting deep shadows over the dunes, and Nico was just about to reach the top of the dune he was climbing. When he reached the top, he looked up from the map, swore, and dropped down flat on the ground. He slowly edged his way forward, until just his head was peaking over the top.

In the area below him, in between two huge dunes, was a massive sandcastle. Nico admonished himself for the ridiculous comparison, but the fortress in front of him truly resembled a sandcastle, like a massive bucket had just deposited the castle in front of him. That was where the hilarity of the situation ended. Surrounding the fortress was a massive army, about the same amount of individuals as the army he fought in the Underworld, except this one was populated by both normal monsters, and Earthborn.

Nico quietly cursed in every language he knew, before scanning the fortress for any means of entry. The only entrance he could see was a large door made of stone, and it was protected by two gigantic Earthborn, both of which wielded a knife in every hand. Nico continued to scan the area, the beginnings of despair gripping his heart, when an idea came to him.

Though the fortress was surrounded by monsters on all sides, they all faced out towards the desert. Nico guessed this was because they were waiting for him to arrive. Unfortunately for them, this meant that Nico had the perfect opportunity to make use of the beautiful shadows the tall building was creating, and no one would turn around to see him. It was a miracle they hadn't spotted him already.

Nico slowly created shadows around his body, and allowed himself to sink into them. He emerged from them, crouching, at the side of the fortress. Now for the tricky part. Nico unsheathed two daggers, and cloaked himself in darkness. He then than reached up as high as he could, and stabbed into the wall. The sharp dagger sunk in as far as its hilt. He tugged on it experimentally, and was pleased when it bore his weight without a problem. He smirked to himself. Now all he had to do was get in through the only window large enough to fit him, three storeys above.

It was slow, and painful, but ten minutes later, Nico hoisted himself through the window, shoulders aching with the strain of bearing all his weight. He sheathed his daggers, and rolled his shoulders. That was going to hurt tomorrow. He looked around, and saw that he was in a dark, empty room, that had one door set in the wall directly opposite him. He stalked forward, soundlessly making his way across the room. When he reached the door, he crouched down, so that if anything swung at him when he opened the door, his head would remain attached to his shoulders. He gripped the handle tightly, and slowly opened the door, a sliver of light illuminating the dark room.

Outside, he saw nothing. Just an empty hallway that travelled to the left, with doorways interrupting its otherwise smooth walls. He opened the door further, and slipped out, still crouched low, ready to spring at a moment's notice. He carefully closed the door, and winced as it made a quiet _click. _He froze, but after a minute with no sounds, he crept down the hall, opening doors as he went, and growing more and more confused as he saw more empty rooms. What was going on?

Finally, he found something promising. A trapdoor that when opened, revealed a ladder that disappeared from view after only a metre. Pure darkness. It was Nico's kind of place. He stepped onto it, and began climbing down, closing the trapdoor after him, plunging the narrow shaft once again into complete darkness. Nico blinked his eyes, but even with his excellent night vision, it was impenetrable. He continued climbing down for what felt like ten storeys, until he reached the bottom. Nico lightly dropped to the ground, and crouched. When he realised he could still see nothing, he sighed in defeat, before raising his palms to his eyes, and muttering "Zo̱í̱ Áv̱ra." _Life Aura._

Immediately, his surroundings lit up with dots of light. Insects were revealed and if he strained his eyes, he could see the faint pulsing of a soft green light across the now illuminated cavern. _Percy_. Nico hissed with the pain of the beginnings of a killer migraine, but didn't drop the life detecting vision. He saw no other life forms in the cavern but for himself, Percy, and the numerous insects that called the cavern home, so he dropped all stealth, and sprinted towards Percy.

Just as he was about to reach his cousin, the ground in front of him erupted, and twenty Earthborn materialised out of it. Nico unsheathed his sword, and lunged at the one nearest him. He flipped onto its shoulder, and used its head to swing around, dragging the blade along its neck, separating the head from its shoulders. Before it disintegrated, he leapt onto another, this time stabbing its spine, knocking it to the floor, where he decapitated it like he had its brother.

By then, the others had surrounded him, and attacked as one. He slashed and parried, stabbed and flipped, and took down another ten, no problem. As he faced seven of them in front of him, he failed to notice in time the eighth behind him, and it swung a clawed hand at him, slicing across his back through the gap in his armour, in a path of fire. He snarled in pain, spun around, and slashed the beast from the head down, cutting it clean in half. He whirled back around, and attacked the remainder with renewed fury, the pain of his injury lending him strength, as well as leaching it from him.

Only when the last Earthborn had fallen, and he was surrounded my mounds of soil, didn't he run to Percy. His cousin was attached to the caves wall by celestial bronze cuffs on his wrists and ankles, and his head was drooping onto his chest. He wasn't conscious.

"Percy!" Nico hissed, but his cousin didn't stir. "Percy! Wake the fuck up, you lazy sea spawn!"

Nico almost cried with relief when Percy groaned, and opened his eyes, blearily. "Nico? Why are you in my room?" Nico rolled his eyes.

"You're shackled to a wall, you moron. This is a cave, not your bedroom."

Percy looked around, but couldn't see anything, and tried to yank his arms out of their restraints, "So I am. Mind helping me with these, dearest cousin?" Nico rolled his eyes again, but swung his sword, and with great precision, cut the manacles off. He caught Percy as he fell forward, saving him from a faceplant.

"Urgghh," Percy groaned, "Why do I feel like shit? Am I hungover?"

Nico sighed in exasperation, "No, you Seaweed Brain, you were captured by Gaea. How can you not remember the greatest moment of idiocy in your entire life?"

Percy's eyes widened, "Oh yeah! It's kinda blurry though... I remember walking towards the monster army, and then..." he sighed in frustration, "I think they sprayed me with something... yeah, something knocked me out, and then I woke up to your voice." He rubbed his head sheepishly, "Not really my best moment. Captured by monsters, honestly."

"Come on," Nico said, "We need to get out of here." He pulled Percy to his feet, but paused when Percy staggered, clutching his head as if in pain. Nico knew how he felt, the aura vision really messed with his head, what with making people glow and whatnot. To him, Percy was a green, humanoid, glowing blob. His back also felt like hell, and he could feel the steady flow of blood soaking his clothing beneath the armour. Lot of good IT had done. "What's wrong?"

"My head," Percy gasped, "Whatever those assholes gave me is messing with my brain."

"Not much to mess with, " Nico muttered, and rummaged in his pockets, removing the last of his godly food, giving it to Percy rather than healing himself. "Here, eat this." Percy gulped it down, and stood up straighter. He felt more awake, and his brain didn't feel like it was going to explode anymore. He gripped Nico's arm.

"Lead the way, cousin." Nico nodded, and then realised Percy couldn't see him, so grunted in agreement. He was about to shadow-travel them back to Camp, when the ground shook, throwing them both off balance. They fell to the ground. Groaning, they rubbed their heads, and with a great flash, golden light filled the chamber. Percy and Nico shielded their eyes, for they had become used to the darkness, and the light made their eyes sting. When they were able to see again, they gasped, and Percy pulled out Riptide from his pocket. Now that the room was filled with light, Nico banished his Aura Vision, but not before examining the figure before them. It glowed gold with so much godly power, it was visible to even the mortal eye.

"Well, well, well, my dear Nico," the honeyed female voice purred, "You have truly impressed me. Invaded my new home, evaded my army, and destroyed twenty of my lovely creations, all for your cousin. Soon, you will show such loyalty to me."

"No chance in hell," Nico snarled, and lunged towards her, Percy right behind him. Simultaneously, they attacked, but to no avail. It was like she knew what they were going to do before they did. She avoided every blow with ease, but did not retaliate.

And then she did. With amazing speed, she backhanded Percy, and he flew across the room, before crashing into another wall. He got to his feet, and brushed himself off, grinning.

"I'm invincible. Bitch slapping me across a room doesn't do much. Just ask Kronos... oh wait, you can't!" Percy laughed before he caused water to explode from the ground. The cavern obviously had an underground river, and it must have been pretty large because of the amount of water Percy was controlling. With a yell, he caused the water to crash into Gaea, just after Nico had leapt away. He then froze it, and dropped to his knees, panting. He still hadn't fully recovered from his capture.

"Do you think that'll keep her long?" Percy asked. A large cracking sound filled the chamber, and the ice exploded, shattering into millions of razor sharp shards. Nico raised a shadow shield just in time to avoid being impaled. Beautiful laughter filled the cavern, echoing of the walls, so it sounded like many people were all laughing at the same time.

"Foolish to think such petty tricks could harm a being as powerful as me, son of Poseidon. I am stronger than anything you have faced before," an evil smile marred her otherwise beautiful features, "And now you must pay the consequences."

Tendrils of earth surged from the ground at Percy's feet, and wrapped themselves around him. Percy yelped in surprise, and started to hack at the tendrils, until they secured his arms. He tried to rip himself free, but more encircled his chest, stopping him from moving. Nico started to run towards him, but more tendrils wrapped around his feet, tripping him up. They tightened, and he could feel them stopping the blood flow, crushing his armour into his skin.

"PERCY!" he yelled, as he watched the earth creep up his neck to cover his face.

Gaea slowly waltzed up to Percy, a gentle smile on her face, "Invincible you may be, child of the sea, but even you need air, hmmm?" Percy glared at her, and tried to speak, but the soil covered his mouth, preventing him from doing so. The soil crept up farther, and covered his nose. Percy's eyes widened in desperation as he began to suffocate. And Gaea laughed.

Nico was consumed by rage. His eyes bled to black, and he screamed with fury. The shadows around him exploded into life, and he sent them shooting towards Gaea and Percy. Gaea stepped out of the way, but that was what Nico wanted her to do. The shadows struck Percy, and surrounded him. With a roar, Nico sent the shadows to Camp Half blood before collapsing to the ground, his back leaking blood. He had never tried to shadow-travel someone without him travelling as well, and he could feel it draining his reserves. He slashed at the tendrils of earth around his ankles, and had just managed to free himself when he felt a hand latch onto his hair. The hand then pulled him up, and he was face to face with Gaea. Her hand came up and she ripped the mask that covered the lower half his face and neck, before latching a collar in its place. Immediately, he felt all his power disappear, leaving him as weak as a mortal child, and his sword fell from his limp hands.

"That," Gaea hissed, "Was very annoying. Now we will have to find something else to motivate you." Nico spat at her and she slapped him. Nico's vision darkened from the force of the blow, and his ears were filled with a ringing sound.

"Listen here, boy. The only reason you are alive is because you are the means to destroy those pathetic gods, without my hands being sullied with their disgusting blood. You will do as I say, or I will end your sorry excuse for a life. All you Underworld spawn are the same. Once your life is endangered, you will do anything to preserve it, because you know what awaits you when you die."

Nico smirked at her. "Well if that's your plan, than we've got nothing the worry about, because I will NEVER betray my family, no matter what you threaten me with. If I have to die to save them, then so be it." He glared into her golden, glowing eyes, with no fear. Her anger instantly morphed into a smile. She patted his cheek condescendingly.

"We shall see how you feel after a night spent in the dark with my lovely creations for company." She clicked her fingers, and no less than one hundred Earthborn rose up from the floor. She dropped him, and he landed in a heap on the floor. His fingers searched the floor until he grasped the handle of his sword. He gripped it tightly. Gaea laughed at him before walking backwards. "I will be back tomorrow, young Prince. Until then," and she dissolved back into the floor.

Nico painfully pushed himself upright, and raised his sword, standing proudly before the mass of enemies slowly advancing on him. He readied himself for battle. Somehow, he would have to escape without his powers. He couldn't rely on Percy to save him, because he wasn't sure whether or not Percy had even arrived at Camp, and the Avengers didn't even know where he was. No, he would have to get himself out of this mess, and he'd be damned if a bunch of dirt piles were going to be the death of him. With a great battle cry, he attacked.

**Longest. Chapter. EVER. My hands... so much pain... curse this typing. I plan on either updating this story tomorrow, or starting another story that my friend asked me to begin. Or maybe I might just sleep... Anyways, you'll find out tomorrow. Yeah, reviews and stuff, thanks for reading.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Mm kay, I'm updating this story coz of all the reviews and the *puppy dog eyes* curse you... If my friend kills me for not starting the new story, blame yourselves!**

Percy groaned, and got to his feet. He was in his cabin at Camp, and outside it was still dark. He coughed, and winced from the pain in his throat, and then yelped in horror. Nico! He was still in the cavern! Percy sprinted out of the cabin to find Chiron. Nico was at the mercy of a pissed off goddess, and Percy had to help him.

When he reached the Big House, he hammered on the door, his strength causing it to splinter slightly. It took less than a minute, before the door flew open, revealing an angry Mr. D, who was dressed in purple pyjamas.

"What is it, Peter Johnson?!" he yelled in Percy's face, "Give me a reason why I shouldn't turn you into a dolphin!" He paused, and frowned, "Wait a second... You're back. Which means..." His eyes widened with fear.

"Nico rescued me, but he sent me back without him! Now Gaea has him! We need to go rescue him-"

Dionysus' eyes flashed with purple fire. "She has him? This is why he was forbidden from going after you, this is your fault, Jackson!" He glared at Percy. "I will go to Olympus and inform the others of the situation. _You_," he spat at Percy, "Will stay here. Do _not_ leave Camp under _any_ circumstance. Idiotic sacrifice obsessed demigods..." With that, he flashed away, and Percy averted his eyes.

Percy sank to the ground, and buried his face in his hands. It _was_ his fault. If he hadn't let himself be captured, Nico would be safe. He had already done so much for Percy.

With that thought, Percy shot to his feet. He would go after Nico, screw it. He ran off in the direction of Halfblood Hill, but stopped when he reached the summit. He didn't know where it was he had been taken. He yelled with rage, and punched a tree next to him.

"What did the tree ever do to you?" a voice echoed out of the darkness. Percy pulled out his sword, and brandished it in the direction of the voice in surprise.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

A group of seven individuals stepped into the light caused by Riptide. Percy almost dropped his sword in shock as he realised who it was. The Avengers. "A demigod, I presume?" Iron Man asked him, "I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but we're a little stressed at the moment. We're missing a team mate, you see. Haven't seen him have you? Tall, dark, looks like a grumpy emo ninja?"

Steve interrupted, "We're looking for Nico di Angelo. We thought he might have come back here to get some things. He left to rescue his cousin Perseus, and we think he might need our help."

"_I'm_ Percy," Percy said, "Nico already rescued me! But now he's stuck down where I was, and I don't know where that is, because I was unconscious, and now I don't know how to find him!"

The Avengers exchanged looks of despair. They were too late to help him? They _knew_ they had taken too long to locate the Camp.

"Are you sure you don't know where you were taken?" Steve asked desperately, "Anything about the terrain, the smells?"

Percy thought about it, "Well I was pretty busy at the time but I do know we were underground... I think it was somewhere warm. And dry."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Well that narrows it down." It was then that Loki stepped forward from where he was lurking at the back of the group.

"Greek," he asked quietly. He was confused by how worried he was about Nico. He had only known him a short period of time, but already he thought of him as a friend, "Do you happen to have any personal belongings given to you, or owned for a long period of time by Nico?" Percy frowned, and began to shake his head, before he realized that he did. He reached into the pocket of his dirt covered jeans, and pulled out a whistle made of ice.

"He got the idea from Daedalus, said to blow it if I ever need his help." He curled his fist around the whistle. "Didn't think to ask him for something that meant I could find _him_, though."

Loki smiled mischievously, "May I have it for a moment?" Percy warily handed it to him, and watched as Loki examined it closely.

"What are you thinking, brother?" Thor asked. In response, Loki held out his wrists, that were still encased in the power suppressing gauntlets.

"I need you to remove them. I know a spell to locate a person if I have an object the person was close to. This," He held up the whistle, "Was made by Nico, and he gave it to his cousin to use if he ever needed him. Some of his essence is in it so that he will be informed if it is blown. I can use my power to trace it to him. But only," he shook his wrists in Thor's direction again, "If I can use my powers."

They Avengers considered this, "How do we know you won't attack us once your powers are released?" Bruce asked suspiciously.

"Because although I may not be the most loyal of creatures, there is one rule that I will always abide by, and that is I _always_ repay my debts. I owe Nico much, and this way I can repay him."

The others were still not convinced, until Thor said, "He tells the truth. My brother always repays his debts." He gazed and Loki, "Are you ready, brother?" Loki nodded in affirmation, and Thor gripped the gauntlets, before sending some of his power into them. Loki hissed in pain as the metal began to heat up, but then they fell to the ground. He gasped as he felt his magic return, but immediately turned his attention the whistle still grasped in his hand.

He sent a sliver of seeking power into the ice, and smirked in triumph when a trail of light lit up in his mind, showing him where Nico was at that moment in time. "He is to the far southwest, in the centre of a large, barren desert. Far from any civilization, perhaps a large area of wilderness? I can sense he is in pain, but he is not dead. That is something."

"Desert, far southwest," Natasha muttered before her eyes lit up, "Death Valley, that's the only place I can think of."

"Okay!" Tony said, "So how are we getting there? From what Loki said about Nico's current condition, we'd better hurry."

"I have an idea," Percy said, and he closed his eyes. _Father_, he said in his mind, _I know you aren't supposed to interfere with your children's lives, but Nico risked his life to save me, and I need to return the favour. Please send us to Death Valley. _

For a moment, nothing happened, and Percy's shoulders drooped in disappointment, but suddenly they were engulfed in a mist that smelt strongly of the sea. Percy had just enough time to yell "Don't panic!" before they were swept away.

They were dropped off in the dark desert. _Thank you, father_. Percy shivered, "I thought deserts were supposed to be warm?" Bruce shook his head.

"Deserts cool down during the night, because after the sun sets, all the heat-" Clint interrupted them.

"Nerd talk later. What was that, Jackson?"

Percy smiled uncomfortably. "My dad helped us out a bit, but nevermind that, we've got bigger problems." Percy was right. The monsters guarding the sand fortress had spotted them. "I'll hold them off while you guys find Nico, he's down below us somewhere."

Thor stepped forward, "I will assist you, son of the sea." Bruce stepped forward as well.

"Me too."

Steve nodded at the three of them. "Okay, Loki, Clint, Natasha, Tony and I will head straight for the sandcastle. Once we find Nico, we'll regroup, and try and get out of here. No one die, agreed?"

Clint face-palmed. "That is a really crap plan." He sighed. "Screw it, let's go."

Thor, Percy and Bruce, who had transformed into his green alter ego, charged at the army, while the others sprinted in the direction of the stone doors. It took them awhile to clear a path, but eventually, they reached their destination.

"Anyone think about how we were going to open the door?" Steve panted.

"You're the one who came up with the plan!" Clint retorted.

"Out of the way, children," Tony said, before blasting the door open.

"Well that works too," Steve said, and the five of them entered the fortress.

"What the hell?" Tony said incredulously, as they ran through the winding corridors, "What is this place?"

Loki stopped and examined a wall. "The trail leads down, but this place is being controlled by the Earth Mother. There is no way she will allow us to reach our destination."

"Screw it," Tony muttered, and blasted a hole in the floor. He looked up to see the others staring at him. "What?! It worked on the door!" Loki sighed and waved his hand. A green slide appeared, and he slid down it, into the darkness. The others followed, on the slide, and for Tony, through the air.

They landed in the patch of light coming from above them through the hole, which promptly disappeared as it re-sealed itself. Clint and Natasha pulled out flash lights and Tony made the light coming from his suit shine brighter. They were in a long stone corridor that stretched in either direction. Loki stalked to the right.

"He is this way. Try and keep up, mortals." The others hurried after him.

After five minutes of walking, Loki paused. "Do you hear fighting?" His eyes widened, and they sprinted off in the direction of the noises. They arrived in the cavern just in time to see Nico about to be crushed by an Earthborn. Loki slashed a hand through the air, and the Earthborn exploded. Nico rolled away from the cloud of dust, coughing.

He looked terrible. He had multiple cuts all over his body, and he was covered in bruises. As he stood up, he moved as if his ribs were broken, and his face was a sickly pale colour. He nodded in their direction, "Thanks for that. Anyone mind taking this piece of shit off me before the rest of them get here? I'm not able to, it tightens when I try." He gestured at the collar around his neck, and when he coughed, blood splattered his hand, "Getting a bit hard to breathe here."

Loki hurried over to him while the others attacked the twenty or so Earthborn still in the chamber. Nico was quite proud of the fact that even with no powers, he had still managed to kill so many with a sword not powered by any of his shadows. Gaea had underestimated him. Even so, he was exhausted, and he was pretty sure that if the collar stayed on him any longer, he would fall unconscious, and he wasn't sure whether or not he would be able to wake up on his own.

Loki grasped the collar, and panicked when it began to shrink, blocking Nico's air supply. He tugged at it with all his strength, and it finally it cracked. He pulled it the rest of the way off, and flung it into the darkness. Nico gasped in relief. "Thanks, man. I _really_ didn't like that thing." Loki nodded at him, and turned around to assist the others. Nico gripped his sword, and sighed as he felt his power return, seeping into his tired muscles, strengthening them.

By now, the rest of the Earthborn had been destroyed, and the heroes gathered in the centre of the cavern. "That was easier than I thought it would be," Tony said cautiously.

"That's because I don't think Gaea's here. Hopefully she's gone somewhere else. We should get out of here while we can." Nico's hopes of escape dwindled as soft laughter filled the air.

"You think you are allowed to leave, dear Nico? I am not finished with you." She sighed happily, "And look, you found me a way to motivate you."

"No!" Nico yelled, "Leave them out of this!" Gaea laughed some more, and the chamber was suddenly filled with golden light, causing all the shadows to disappear. "You cannot escape me. Your power is gone, and even if you had it, there are no shadows for you to escape into."

It was Nico's turn to laugh, "Power gone? Whatever do you mean, grandmother?" he paused, and shadows blazed into existence, churning along the floor, and rising upwards, and solidifying in the forms of hellhounds. The shadow beasts growled and snarled, before charging at Gaea, their feet leaving burning prints of Hellfire in their wake.

"Uhh, why haven't you ever done that before?" Tony asked, "That's a pretty cool trick." Nico staggered tiredly, before replying.

"I kinda didn't know I could do that..." Nico said sheepishly, "But it doesn't matter, we need to get out of here. Where are the others?"

"Outside, they're fighting the army." Steve replied.

Suddenly, there was a terrible screeching noise, and everyone clutched their ears in pain.

"Dirt Lady's pissed!" Clint yelled, "Run!" Gaea screeched again, and _more_ Earthborn rose from the floor, surrounding them, leaving no escape.

"I'm _really _getting tired of that trick," Nico grumbled.

"Capture them!" Gaea screamed, and the monsters attacked.

In the split second before they were overcome, Nico slammed his fist into the ground, and the floor beneath them shot upwards. Gaea had forgotten she wasn't the only person capable of controlling the earth. As they hurtled upwards on a platform of black rock from the Underworld, Nico yelled, "Stark! Make us an exit!"

Tony quickly blasted another hole into the rocky ceiling speeding towards them, and Nico created a shadow shield to protect them from the falling debris. Yup, he would definitely be feeling this in the morning.

They emerged into chaos. Monster dust was everywhere, covering the ground in a carpet of gold, and they remaining monsters were desperately attacking the trio of warriors that were kicking their collective asses. The Hulk and Percy were invincible, and Thor was an Asgardian. If Nico didn't hate monsters, he might have pitied them.

"Regroup!" Steve yelled, and everyone made their way together, till they were all standing in an outward facing circle. "Nico, think you can magic us out of here?"

"Gimme a minute," Nico panted, blood dripping from his nose, and leaking from the corners of his mouth, "I need time."

"Well we don't have time." Percy retorted, "Granny's coming back."

With a roar, Gaea exploded from the ground, and rose until she was 50 feet tall. "You shall NOT leave!" she boomed, and everyone stumbled from the earth tremors her anger had created. "I am the goddess of the earth! THIS PLANET BELONGS TO _ME_!"

"For your information, the majority of the planet is covered with water! Gods are intelligent, my ass!" Percy yelled back. Gaea shrieked again, and the Avengers struggled to defend themselves against the next attack.

"Nico, hurry! We can't need to get out of here!" Steve shouted, as he ducked the swing of an enraged empousai, and blocked another with his shield.

Nico shut his eyes, and concentrated as hard as he could on the Avengers Tower. _Take us home_, he pleaded to the shadows. They obeyed, and before everything faded to black, Nico yelled "See you in hell, motherfuckers!"

They were deposited by the shadows in the tower, once again in as many weeks. Honestly, Nico felt like a taxi service. They had all landed on their backs, so Nico rolled onto his side as he began to cough in earnest, the ground beside him becoming stained with blood. He groaned, "Why am I getting injured so much? I hate this job!"

Percy laughed at him, "No you don't, you love the action." He rubbed his back, wincing as he felt bruises forming, "Though not your best landing, Death Breath. It could use some work." Nico snarled at him and lunged, only to collapse back to the floor, his weak limbs failing to support his weight.

"I'm going to kill you," Nico mumbled into the floor, "... as soon as I learn to walk again." Percy laughed, and gingerly got to his feet, along with the Avengers and Loki.

"I'd better get back to Camp, Annabeth's probably worried sick." He rubbed his lower back, knowing Annabeth would take advantage of knowing his mortal point to punish him for failing to tell her he was alright. "Gods help me..."

He walked over to Nico, and crouched beside him, as he had yet to regain his strength. "Thanks for coming after me, little brother. I'll come back to visit once your team has dealt with you." He patted Nico's head, and left the room through the elevator. Nico blinked in confusion, before glancing at his team mates, who were all glaring steadily at him, even Loki.

"Ummm, hi?"

"Nico," Steve growled, "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"Uhh, from your expressions, I'm guessing a bit?"

Tony rolled his eyes in exasperation, "A bit? We were terrified!" He paused, "Well I was mildly concerned, but that's not the point! We're your team! When something goes wrong, we figure it out together. No more of your 'lone ranger' shit. You may be a mopey teenager, but that doesn't mean you can just go off by yourself. We have to work together."

Nico slumped down in embarrassment. "I'm used to dealing with things on my own. I didn't want to endanger any of you." Bruce sighed, and took pity on him. He walked over and helped Nico to his feet, leading him over to a chair, which he collapsed into gratefully.

"Well, you don't need to deal with stuff by yourself anymore," he said softly. "That's what friends are for, right?" Nico stared at the others in shock. Friends? The others looked back at him, all smiling. Well, except for Loki, he was just grinning mischievously.

Slowly, Nico nodded his head, before a soft smile crept across his face, the first true smile any of them had seen from him. "Right. Friends."

**Bit of a mushy ending for this chapter, but who cares. If there are any idiotic geographical mistakes, ignore them! I'm Irish, and America is confusing and large. Anyways, reviews! They are good things...**


	11. Chapter 11

A week had passed since Nico's rescue, capture and then rescue again, and the wounds he had suffered at the hands of Gaea were finally fading. Nico woke up to his dark, black bedroom, and sighed. He really wanted to go back to sleep, but something had awoken him. He sat up, yawned and stretched, and then began to slowly make his way out of his soft, comfortable bed.

All of a sudden, there was a blaring noise, and the blinds that had previously covered the wall of windows flew open, filling the room with bright sunlight. Nico yelped in surprise, and toppled off of the bed. He landed on the floor hard, but rolled with the movement, becoming upright in a crouch, pulling out the dagger that had been hidden under his pillow. It took his sleep-fogged brain a moment to realise that the blaring noise was actually a song. 'Build me up Buttercup' to be exact. Nico roared with fury, before yelling, "Jarvis, turn this disgustingly happy song off NOW!"

"My apologies, Mr. Di Angelo, but your host Mr. Stark has disabled my control over the music played in the tower. I'm afraid you will have to endure the song." Nico was barely able to hear Jarvis' crisp voice over the accursed 'music'. He snarled, and stomped over to the control panel on the wall, and started mashing buttons. He stopped when the words 'Nico di Angelo: Access Denied' appeared in red writing across the small screen. He growled in annoyance, and decided he would just have to wait the song out, and kill Stark later, when he was at least wearing shoes. _The better to stomp Stark's face with_, he thought darkly.

Unfortunately for Nico, the song was on a loop. After figuring this out, Nico decided perhaps Stark's face needed rearranging sooner rather than later. Screw shoes, he had a knife.

He palmed the dagger, and stalked out of the room, slamming the door so hard on his way out that it caused the wall to crack. He strode towards the living area, murder filling his thoughts. He passed through the threshold and began to prowl around the room.

"Playing hide and seek, are we? Won't save you, Stark, I can sense your aura. And Thor's. You see this dagger?" He held up the black dagger from which coils of smoky darkness were being emitted, "It really wants to separate your head from your body. I'm only too happy to oblige," he snarled menacingly.

Instead of hearing the fearful whimpering that that tone of voice usually caused mortals to make, he heard quiet laughter. Nico's eyes widened with realisation. Shit, a trap! He had just enough time to take one running step in the direction of the door before he heard a _beep_. Oh shit, he thought, before a mass of yellow exploded down from the ceiling, covering every surface in the room, including Nico, in a soft blanket of sunny colour.

Dandelions.

Nico shuddered once, before falling still. Tony and Thor jumped out from behind a sofa and high-fived.

"You are a good friend, Man of Iron," Thor beamed happily, "I believe my capes have now been avenged. You have my thanks."

"No problem," Tony smirked, "Anything to mess with our dear Emo Ninja. Speaking of which, I was expecting more of a reaction." Tony frowned at Nico in concern, "Hey Nico, are you alright? They're just flowers you know, why..." He fell silent as Nico lifted his head to face him and Thor.

His eyes were black, and he was terrifying, even covered in flowers. A low growling sound filled the room, and Nico bared his teeth, incensed. Black flames erupted all over his body, setting fire to all the flowers in contact with him, reducing them to ashes. Tony and Thor took a step back, they're fight or flight instincts yelling at them. 'FUCKING RUUUUUNNN!'.

Just then, Loki entered the room, already dressed, and his eyes widened in horror at the scene before him. He took in the sight of Nico, who looked like he was about to tear Tony and Thor apart limb from limb with his teeth, and bathe in their blood. Though the glare was not being directed at him, Loki could not help but shiver with terror at the sight of Nico so angry.

"Nico, my friend," Loki said calmly, not allowing a trace of his true emotions to enter his voice, "Please calm down. I now that killing them may seem like a good idea, but I fear you will regret it afterwards." His words seemed to have no effect on Nico whatsoever, so he decided to try a different approach. "Think! If you kill them now, we cannot prank them in revenge. Remember our plans, Nico, if you kill them, all our work will be for nothing!"

These words seemed to break through the haze of bloodlust that was clouding Nico's mind. He closed his eyes briefly, and when he reopened them, they were back to normal. He looked in front of him, and saw that Thor and Stark were clinging to each other, seconds away from becoming gibbering messes. His father had told him not to use his full glare on mortals, but in a situation such as this, there had to be an exception. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Nico appearing to calm down, until he took a calming breath. With that inhale, came the aroma of thousands of dandelions, the one thing he hated most in the world. Immediately, all reason left his face, and his eyes bled to black once again. Hellfire exploded from his hands, and bathed the room in black light, incinerating all the flowers that dared exist in his presence.

Tony and Thor leapt behind one of the sofas, trying to be as small a target as possible. Loki, on the other hand, created a green shield around himself, and sent energy into the building and furniture around him to protect them from the flames. Nico was beyond reason, and if left to his own devices, might accidently burn down the tower in his fury. Black fire leapt from surface to surface, incinerating every dandelion, leaving no survivors. "BURN IN HELL, BASTARDS!"

Behind the sofa, Tony pursed his lips, and placed a fist under his chin in deep contemplation. "... perhaps we went too far..."

Thor stared at him incredulously, "To coin the mortal phrase, no shit, Sherlock. I blame you, Man of Iron."

Finally, every flower was dead, and hopefully rotting in Tartarus. Tony and Thor popped their heads up over the sofa fearfully. Warily, Loki dropped the magic spells that were sapping his strength. Together, they gazed at Nico, who was standing in the middle of the room, his black hair shielding his face from the others, and the black flames licking his hands slowly dying away to nothing.

Nico took a calming breath, this time free from the disgustingly floral aroma, and raised his face to stare at the two culprits. His face was void of emotion. "You will pay for this."

"You harmed my beloved capes!" Thor roared, regaining his courage and stalking towards Nico, a finger pointed at his, "Now we are equal." Nico simply glared. Thor gulped before hastily replying, "Or perhaps not. We will not use these 'dandelions' again, son of Hades. My capes were repaired, after all." He began to slowly edge backwards, away from the murderous demigod. Nico snarled, and said to Loki "Thanks for saving the tower. I wasn't exactly thinking clearly."

"It is quite alright, my friend. The sight of Thor about to faint from fear evened the score." Nico smirked, and was about o reply, when an angry voice yelled from the kitchen.

"Who the FUCK burned all the food!? Nico, goddammit!" Clint stormed out of the kitchen, a charred box of cereal clutched in his hand. Nico stared accusingly at Loki.

"What!?" Loki spluttered, "I saved the building AND the furniture from _your_ tantrum! Well _excuse_ _me_ for forgetting the food!" Nico facepalmed and looked at Clint apologetically.

"I'm sorry Clint, Stark and Thor pissed me off, I'll go get more food." Nico glared at his tormentors before walking towards the door. "That music better not be playing in my room, assholes. You tempted fate once today, care to try again?" With that, he was gone, leaving Tony to sprint over to the nearest computer screen.

When Nico arrived at his room, it was mercifully silent. He quickly changed out of the sweatpants and t-shirt he had slept in to fresh clothing and his aviators jacket. He was just finished when there was a knock on the door. Nico walked over, and pulled it open to see Loki.

"Yeah?" Nico asked.

Loki looked uncomfortable. "You are going to buy food, yes?" Nico nodded. "I see. And where you are going to buy food... they don't happen to sell peanut butter cups, do they?"

Nico's lips twitched in amusement. "... You want peanut butter cups?"

Loki glared at Nico before he sighed, and covered his eyes with his hand. "Curse those pathetic mortal sheep, but they make delicious food. I discovered them the last time I was in this realm."

"When you were trying to achieve world domination?"

Loki nodded, "Yes, that time."

Nico shrugged, "You can come if you want, they pretty much sell them everywhere. But you're going to have to wear a disguise." Loki looked affronted.

"Disguise myself from mortals? Surely you jest. Why should I have to?" He huffed indignantly, "As if I would hide my true identity from them. I am a prince!"

Nico growled, "So now _I_ have to disguise myself. The mortals may not know you were the mastermind behind the invasion, but you've been seen with us over the last couple of days. Anyone seen with you will be assumed to be an Avenger. I'd rather not be mobbed whenever I go outside."

Loki waved a hand dismissively, "Simply wear your mask. Besides, you can transport us to this 'store' with your shadows, can you not?"

"I'm not a goddamn taxi!" Nico yelled, "It's just down the street. We're walking." Loki wrinkled his nose at the prospect of being in the presence of so many mortals, but decided it would be worth it if he could once again taste the heavenly candy. Nico headed back into his room, and grabbed his mask. He placed it on his face, and his lower face and neck were covered once again.

Nico and Loki stood beside the doors that would deliver them outside at street level. They could see nothing through the fogged glass, but they could hear a faint roaring sound. They stared at each other in confusion before shrugging. Nico pushed open the door and walked out into the sunlight, followed by Loki. They were met by a wall of noise, and they were momentarily disoriented by what they saw.

Surrounding the steps that led to the entrance of the tower was a huge crowd of people. Thousands upon thousands of individuals filled the street, the majority of which were brandishing banners and signs. Upon seeing Nico and Loki, the crowd exploded into shrill screams and catcalls, and they both had to stop themselves from covering their ears.

"What is that horrendous sound?!" Loki yelled. He was referring to the shrill sound of _squeee! _the majority of the crowd seemed to be producing.

Nico gaped at the crowd beneath his mask as he read some of the signs. All of them said different things, like 'I 3 Ghost King' and 'Marry me Loki!'.The meaning was apparent.

"Loki... I think we have fangirls." His theory was proved true as the crowd began to scream even louder, and many of them started yelling marriage proposals. As if an invisible wall had been lifted, the crowd suddenly converged on the two men. Before they could reach them, Nico grabbed Loki's arm, and shadow-travelled them into the food store across the street. The shop was empty but for the shop attendant, who gasped in surprise at the sight of them before passing out in shock.

They crept over to the window, and stared out at the crowd, which was still grouped around the area they had been in, some of them splayed out on the ground, sobbing at the disappearance of their heroes.

Loki gulped, his throat suddenly dry. "I have an army... of insane mortals."

Nico nodded in shock, "As do I, it seems... As do I..."

After they had purchased the food from the trembling shop assistant once she had regained consciousness, the travelled straight back into the tower, not wanting to risk their lives trying to get through the mass of fangirls. They had replaced most of the food that had been destroyed, even Thor's, and Loki had bought an entire shopping basket full of peanut butter cups. Once they had put all the food away, they called the others, who flocked into the kitchen in search of sustenance.

Upon opening a cupboard, Thor discovered that they had purchased him Poptarts. "You are too kind, brother!" he exclaimed happily, and opened the box and began unwrapping some. Loki's eyebrow twitched at being called 'brother' but a dark smile crept onto his face, which was mirrored by Nico, and Loki clicked his fingers. Thor failed to notice any of this.

He happily shovelled the snacks into his mouth, and for a moment, he was overjoyed. But then, all of a sudden, his happy expression morphed into one of confusion, and then-

"ARRGHH! WHAT GHASTLY FIRE DOES FILL MY MOUTH!? IT BUUUUUURRNNNSSS!" He began to cough and choke, so he ran to the table, grabbed a pitcher of water, and proceeded to poor it over his face. When this failed to work, he yelled, and fled from the room, his face as red as his cape.

Loki and Nico collapsed to the floor, laughing until tears ran down their faces.

"What did you do?!" cried Steve, his face the picture of shock. Still gasping from lack of air, Nico held up a jar labelled 'Wasabi Powder', from which Loki had been transporting into Thor's Poptarts.

Everyone began to laugh, although Tony kept an eye out for any attacks. He had been involved in the prank earlier as well. Suddenly, all emotion fled Nico's face, leaving it an emotionless mask. "I hope you've learned a lesson to day. No one uses dandelions ever again... no one..."

The others hastily nodded in affirmation, before finishing their meals, and heading back to their tasks. Clint returned to the gym, where he had been practicing his archery. As he entered the room, he noticed a flicker of shadows from the corner of his vision, but when he turned to look, there was nothing there. Shrugging, he readied his bow, aimed carefully, and fired three arrows at the same time. Strangely, after leaving the bow, instead of sailing silently through the air, the arrow made a sound._ Pew, pew, pew!_ Clint's eye twitched.

"FUCK IT! STARK! WHERE THE HELL DO I BUY A SHITLOAD OF DANDELIONS?!"

**I'll hopefully be updating a lot this week coz im on my mid-term break. First chapter of my new story will be uploaded later tonight, read it if you want. Reviews and stuff, yeah, I love them...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for all the reviews, Best. Motivation. EVER.**

Nico was calmly walking down one of New York's numerous streets when a building exploded. Nico's eyebrow twitched, and mortals began to flee the scene, screaming as they went. Slowly, he raised a hand to his ear and asked, "Ghost King to SHIELD, any reason why buildings are exploding? I was trying to walk down this street and now it's blocked." Air hissed through his clenched teeth. "It's really pissing me off."

The brisk voice of a SHIELD operative spoke through the tiny communicator in his ear. "Agent di Angelo, we've got another Earthborn attack in your current vicinity, authorization for attack. Try not to reveal your identity if possible, and we believe there may be people still inside the building. We'll be watching through the cameras in the area. Good luck."

Nico scowled at her words, but didn't protest. He would have killed them anyways, it's not like he would have left the mortals to die. It was the fifth attack this week. He shrugged off his jacket, and dropped it onto a nearby park bench after removing his mask from the pocket, not wanting his treasured jacket to become soaked in the Earthborn's equivalent of blood that he was only too happy to spill. He placed it on his face, and summoned his sword from shadows. Luckily for him, the mortals were too busy screaming to notice him, so he set of in the direction of the building, dust from the explosion filling the air.

Upon entering the remains of the once proud building, he spotted the bodies of a few mortals. After noting that none of them were dead, he used shadows to transport them down the street, a skill he had perfected a week after his embarrassing first try transporting Percy that had left him at the mercy of Gaea. He noticed the large size of the ruined room, and guessed it must have been a bank, or something along those lines. Broken pipes were spurting out fountains of water, and the remaining lights were flickering on and off. As he moved deeper inside, the light from the sun outside began to fade, and the flickering light bulbs and the random areas of where small fires were burning were his only source of illumination.

He carefully manoeuvred himself through the rubble, his boot encased feet soundless on the marble floor. His eyes, visible above his mask, darted left and right, searching the shadows along with his power. He could sense nothing but the faint presence of Earthborn, almost as if they had already left. With his powers sensing nothing, Nico reluctantly allowed himself to relax. That was his mistake.

With a shockwave of power that sent Nico flying through the air, and crashing into a pillar, the piles of dirt Nico had thought to be caused by the explosion, flowed together, and began to form the largest Earthborn Nico had ever seen. It was easily 10 metres tall, its huge head brushing the crumbling ceiling, causing more dust to fall, obscuring Nico's already poor view of the creature because of the flickering light. Nico pushed himself upright, wincing in pain, and in a move so fast it was almost invisible to the naked eye, dived and rolled to the right. Just in time, as the monsters huge fist slammed down into the floor where he had just been lying, causing the building to shake, and a large crater to appear in the marble.

Nico shot to his feet, and ran behind the monster, clutching his sword tight in his hand. If his life as a demigod had taught him anything, it was to never drop his sword, no matter what. After lifting its fist, and not seeing the crushed corpse of a certain son of Hades, the monster roared, a sound so loud that it caused Nico to clutch his ears in pain, his hearing leaving him, and blood to leak from said deafened ears. He wobbled, his sense of balance distorted, and had just enough time to duck out of the way as the creature whirled around and swung its fist in a wide circle. His hair ruffled from the displaced air, and Nico took the opportunity of the creature's confusion to sprint forward, and stab the creature in the ankle. He guessed it must have howled in pain as it toppled to its knees, but with his hearing gone for now, he couldn't know for sure.

He summoned a fist of shadows, sharpened them to points, and slammed them into the monster's knees that were now in reaching distance. For its size, strength and speed, the creature was immensely stupid, and continued to swing at the area around his wounds, as if expecting Nico to still be there. Nico smirked from where he was standing, now behind the creature, and leapt into the air, ramming his sword into the creatures back, separating its rock-like spine. It tried to turn around, but its legs failed it, and it toppled backwards, the ground vibrating from another roar. Nico could not hear it this time. Once it was on the ground, Nico proceeded to separate every single one of its six arms from his body, his sword and arms becoming stained in gore. The creature's blood was the consistency and colour of mud, and Nico relished in the creatures pain. _Not in my city, you piece of shit_, he thought viciously.

With its arms gone, the monster could not level itself upright, and Nico stood on top of its chest, his sword poised above its stone heart. "Any last words?" The creature opened its mouth as if to say something but Nico interrupted, "Too bad, you bastard, you fucked up my ears." With that, he slammed the blade home. The ground shook, and whatever was keeping the building upright began to collapse, taking the weak building with it. Nico leapt of the disintegrating body of the Earthborn, but before he could run towards the safety of the door, a tendril of earth snagged his ankle, tripping him up. Nico swore as Gaea's voice filled his mind.

"You may have escaped this time, little demigod, but you _will _serve me. You will betray those pathetic excuses for gods, and I will reward you for your loyalty beyond anything you could ever imagine. You will come to me, or I shall send my children to _bring_ you to me. It is your choice, young hero, until then..."

Nico was up and running for the door the moment the earth released him. He dodged the falling debris, and just made it out the door just as the building collapsed, creating a tomb for the monster he had defeated. Nico wiped the blood from his still deaf ears, and winced as he felt his ribs creak from their direct hit with the marble pillar. Abusive grandmother...

He was a surprised when Tony landed directly in front of him, garbed in his metal armour, because he could not hear the telltale sounds of his flight. Tony made the visor of his mask slide up, and began asking Nico questions. Nico of course, could not hear anything, so he raised an eyebrow, and pointed at his bloody ears. Stark's eyes widened, and he grabbed Nico's head, and began to examine his ears. Nico growled, and swatted at Tony, but with his body covered in the metal suit, he could not harm him.

Eventually, Tony released him, but not after ruffling Nico's hair. Nico glared at him, and tried to smooth it back down. Tony just smirked, and began to slowly mouth 'Let's go home. Bruce will fix your ears. Good job, Eeeee-mmooo Niiinnjjaaaaaaaa,' he mouthed the last two words slowly, so Nico couldn't miss the meaning. Nico snarled, and flicked Tony's face, which was still unprotected because his visor was not covering it. Tony staggered backwards, and clutched his forehead, but was still smiling. 'See you at the tower,' he mouthed, and took off. Nico grumbled, and made his way back to the bench on which he had left his jacket. His ears were becoming more painful, and he could vaguely hear some of the things happening around him, such as sirens, and screams. Thank the gods for his accelerated healing. As he picked up his jacket, he felt a sharp pain in his hand, and he released it letting it fall back down. A black, fuzzy creature was attached to his hand. Nico swore, and began to shake his hand furiously, but the fuzz ball would not be dislodged. He stopped shaking his hand, and held it up to his face. It was a kitten. Nico raised an eyebrow, and watched warily as the kitten removed its claws and fangs from his hand. It sat there, staring at him with big yellow eyes. Nico stared back. The cat tilted its head to the side. Nico did also. After staring at each other for about a minute, Nico lifted it up by the scruff of the neck, and placed it back on the bench. He picked up his jacket, and turned around to walk away. Faintly, he heard the little cat meow sadly, and Nico winced. _Don't turn back around_, he told himself, but he could not resist.

He looked back at the kitten, to see it lying on the bench, its head resisting on its black paws, its yellow eyes stared up at him, imploringly. Nico covered his eyes with his hands. He would not be manipulated by a cat! There was another meow, and he peaked through his blood covered fingers. The cat was now sitting at his feet, its mournful eyes expressing such loneliness-

Nico groaned in defeat, and picked up the kitten. It began to purr, and snuggled into his arms. Nico grumbled. He was weak. He put the cat on his shoulder so he could banish his sword to the shadows in order to leave an arm free, but the kitten had other ideas. It pounced on top of his head, latched onto it, and began chewing his hair. Nico's eyebrow twitched, but he knew when it came to a battle with the animal, he would most likely fail. Cats were to powerful, and he would collapse from cuteness overload.

He sighed, and shadow-travelled directly to Bruce's lab in the tower. Bruce looked up, unruffled by his sudden arrival, and beckoned him over, noticing the blood smeared across his face from his ears, and the slight tightness around Nico's eyes that meant he was in pain. He paused in his examination when he spotted a suspicious lump with glowing eyes on top of Nico's head.

"Nico, what's that-"

"I don't want to talk about it," Nico hissed loudly, still pissed at himself for being so easily manipulated. Bruce just shrugged, and motioned Nico to sit on one of the chairs. Nico did, and Bruce walked over to a cupboard to grab some of the Ambrosia Nico had managed to get for them in the event that he was injured. He handed a piece to Nico, and Nico sighed in relief as his pain melted away. Bruce grabbed a cloth, and began wiping Nico's face, but Nico snatched it from him, and continued himself, still not comfortable with people looking after him.

"I can do it myself," he grumbled in embarrassment, now at a normal volume as his ears had been repaired. Bruce used the time Nico was wiping his face to examine the creature latched to, and chewing on, Nico's dark hair. It was a cat.

"Why is there a cat on your head?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" Nico glared at Bruce, daring him to laugh, and stormed from the room, growling over his shoulder, "Thanks for your assistance."

"No problem," Bruce replied, his lips twitching from suppressing the smile caused by the sight of the terrifying Ghost King's new hair accessory.

When he arrived in his room, he managed to dislodge the kitten, which he had decided to call Fiend, because it was the most annoying creature he had ever had the misfortune to meet, and dropped it on his bed so he could take a shower. Fiend immediately began to chew his pillow. Nico shook his head in disgust. First his hair, now his pillow? Maybe it was because his hair had been on the pillow... He wanted to punch himself. He was so weak.

Nico shook his head, and headed for the bathroom. The Ambrosia had healed his wounds, and he could not help but feel that he was eating too much of the food without his body blowing up. A normal demigod would have spontaneously combusted after eating as much as Nico had since joining the Avengers. It scared him to think that his father's blessing had changed him, making him less human, and more like a god. Sure, some people might think that being a god was great, but it also meant that you couldn't interfere directly in mortal affairs. Without Nico's assistance, his friends might die. They needed him and his powers. No, Nico didn't want to be a god, not now, not ever.

When he came out of the bathroom dressed in clean black clothes, he was assaulted by his new companion. Fiend landed on his head with a _plop_, and Nico yelled as tiny paws covered his eyes. He tripped, and landed painfully on his back. He groaned, but the sound was muffled as Fiend picked that moment to sit on his face. Nico swore, and plucked the kitten off his face. Fiend was purring, and looking very self satisfied. Trust Nico to find a cat, be manipulated into adopting it, and then be abused physically and emotionally by said cat all in one day. He glared up at the tiny kitten from where he was holding it above his head. Fiend stared back, continuing to purr. Why did everything always happen to him?

When Nico entered the living room to find not only all the Avengers, but Fury, Coulson, and another man as well, he quickly removed Fiend from his head, and placed him on the floor. Fury, who had been talking, and had stopped when Nico entered the room, turned to him, and started to speak, "Good work today, di Angelo, you got rid of the threat without casualties, and-" He stopped when Nico shot past him, and slammed into the man who had accompanied himself and Coulson to the tower, and shoved him against a wall, his hands wrapped around his throat.

"What the fuck is a traitor like you doing here, Prometheus?" Nico snarled. Prometheus, who was turning blue, began pointing desperately at Fury, panic in his eyes. The son of Hades had become strong.

Fury grabbed Nico, and tried to pull him off the god, "Mr. di Angelo, I am ordering you to unhand our informant." After hearing Fury's words, Nico increased the pressure on Prometheus' throat, before reluctantly letting go, and backing away slowly, not taking his eyes off of the god for one second.

"As I was saying before di Angelo tried to strangle the informant, new information has come to light concerning Gaea and her war plans, courtesy," he fixed Nico with a steely glare, "Of Prometheus. Whatever past you two have, drop it. We have a war to fight, and I will not tolerate the killing of allies. Is that clear, di Angelo?" Nico glared back at him.

"No, it is not clear, Director. Prometheus sided with the Titans in the last war, and I trust him about as fast as I can stab him. Which will only take a second," he growled at Prometheus, whose face bleached of colour.

"I don't care about your last war. If this guy," Fury pointed at Prometheus, "Can help us in our current one, than I don't give a shit. You two better put your differences aside. Now, back to what Prometheus was about to say before he was interrupted." He raised an eyebrow at Nico, as if asking if he could control himself. Nico saw this out of the corner of his eye, and nodded, but still kept most of his attention on Prometheus, who looked more and more sickly with every passing minute he had to suffer Nico's Death Glare.

At Fury's nod, Prometheus cleared his throat. "Well, after hearing about the return of Gaea," he wrinkled his nose after saying her name, "I decided to remain neutral in the coming fight. As you now know, I sided with the Titans against the Olympians in the last war, and it didn't, ahhh, turn out so well..." He looked depressed at the memory of the letdown of discovering he wasn't going to be replacing the Olympians. He began to speak again when he heard someone clearing their throat. "Yes, well that plan kinda didn't work out so well. Less than a week after Gaea's return, I was attacked by her army. When I asked why they were attacking me, they told me something quite shocking... Gaea doesn't plan on killing only the Olympians, she wants to kill every single god and demigod in existence, and then rule the world as she sees fit. From what I've heard, there have been numerous attacks on minor gods, and though so far none have been killed, they have been forced to retreat to Olympus. Gaea has methods of forcing us to fade, and that alone is terrifying."

Nico glared at him, "So basically, you're only helping us because otherwise they won't let you into Olympus. You are _such_ a good person," he said sarcastically.

"Who are _you_ to talk about selflessness, Hades spawn? Children of the Underworld do nothing unless it benefits them. You have no right to judge me, brat."

Before Nico could react in any way, Thor of all people, punched Prometheus in the face. "You will _not_ talk about friend Nico in such a way again, Greek. He has done more for this world than you could ever hope to achieve, and you _will_ give him the respect he deserves."

Nico was shocked that Thor actually seemed to like him now. He assumed it must have been because Loki had threatened further cape massacres if he kept up his rudeness, but pushed his confusion from his mind, "Whatever information you have, Prometheus, tell us now, before I see if I can't make you fade before Gaea does," his eyes bled to black. Prometheus gulped, clutching his bruised nose that was dripping golden blood, and stammered, "She plans to attack New York tomorrow night. Her army has grown, and she has created many Earthborn to serve her. Also, her allies will be arriving tomorrow, as well."

"And how do you know all this?" Natasha asked suspiciously.

"Sneaking!" Prometheus proclaimed proudly.

"Sneaking?" Steve asked, confused.

"Yes, I snuck into their camp, and listened. Amazing conversationalists, monsters, you wouldn't _believe_-"

"Shut the fuck up," Nico growled. Prometheus stopped talking immediately, and disappeared with a squeak. His message delivered, and fearing for his life if he stayed in Nico's presence any longer, he saw no need to remain. Nico was surprised he had stayed so long. He turned to the others, and said, "Remember the attack on Central Park? The random Frost Giant that showed up, ranting about an alliance? They were talking about Gaea, and now they've discovered how to travel to different planets, they're coming to take their revenge because Loki and Thor are here, and they probably think Asgard is too heavily protected." He sighed, and asked Loki, "Did you really have to kill Laufey?"

Loki gazed around the room, trying to look innocent. "Hmmm? Me? Kill Laufey? Why would you think such a thing...?"

Nico rolled his eyes at his friend's antics. "Because Thor and that random Frost Giant told us so, you moron."

Loki sighed, "Well, I _really_ wanted to become King. Besides, Laufey abandoned me as a child because I was small, and then Odin favoured Thor my entire life. I was angry. So I killed him. No big deal." He casually began examining his fingernails.

The others looked traumatised at his blatant admittance to murder, but Nico just laughed, and shook his head. "Dude, you are so fucked up..." Loki just gave him a winning smile.

"As are you, that's why we should take over the world. With our fangirl army, we would be unstoppable!"

"Enough with the plots for world domination!" Fury yelled, his eyes flashing with, well, fury. "We have a serious problem. Gaea, her army _and_ the Frost Giants will be here tomorrow. I don't know how they're planning on doing it, but my guess is they're going to storm the Empire State Building, and destroy as much of New York as they can. We need to evacuate the city, and set up safe zones in the subway for people to take shelter in." He sighed, and rubbed his face. "Why is it always New York? I swear to God, if we get invaded _once_ more after this, I'm moving to Alaska."

Nico tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Maybe the Frost Giants discovered how to get here from that Asgardian traitor we met when we were rescuing Loki from Asgard."

Thor looked furious, "There is a traitor in Asgard? Why did you not tell us!"

Nico glanced around, alarmed, and then scratched his head sheepishly. "I sort of forgot... I had to go get Coulson when I got back. It sort of slipped my mind..."

The others stared at him with varying degrees of astonishment. Curse his ADHD...

He scowled at the others and sighed. "Oops..."

**Thanks for reading.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for all the reviews. You have my undying love and gratitude... **

After interrogating Nico about everything he had seen of the Asgardian traitor, Thor strode from the room, announcing over his shoulder that he was going back to Asgard to find the traitor, and hopefully beat some information out of him that might be useful in the coming fight. Fury had left, bringing Coulson, Natasha, Clint and Steve with him to help with the evacuation efforts. Evacuating every single person in New York in less than a day wasn't going to be possible, so the Director was on the phone to SHIELD, organising areas as shelters. Luckily, after learning there might be an attack on New York, SHIELD had already begun the conversion of some areas, so there wasn't as much work needed to be done as there could be. Before Fury left, he ordered Nico to do something.

"Get to that Camp of yours, and gather your demigod attack force. Gaea's a Greek, this is your fight even more so than ours. I expect you back here by tomorrow morning at the latest with your people. Dismissed."

Although Nico was loath to involve his extended family in such danger, it was as much their fight as his. He wouldn't be able to stop Percy or Annabeth from fighting even if he tried. He sighed, said his goodbyes to the remaining team members, and picked up Fiend. He decided he would leave his new companion at Camp where he would be safe. He shadow-travelled to his room, grabbed his bag which contained his armour and his weapons, and disappeared into the shadows once again.

When he emerged from the darkness, he found himself in the Hades Cabin at Camp Halfblood. Fiend meowed excitedly, and Nico was confused by the fact that the kitten seemed to enjoy Nico's method of travel. Anyone he had ever brought through with him always told him it was an awful experience, something Nico couldn't understand. The fuzzball, however, seemed to enjoy it. He plucked Fiend off of his head, perplexed as to how the cat had gotten there in the first place, and placed him on his bunk. The kitten immediately latched onto a pillow, and curled into a ball, already falling asleep. Nico shook his head at the odd creature and made his way out of the cabin.

He could not help but relax as he took in the familiar surroundings, as he had not been back here in so long. Being an Avenger didn't leave much time for anything else. He scowled up at the bright sun, and then some more as he observed the teenagers running around before him, hanging out with their friends, or hurrying to their classes. He sighed, and shook his head. He inhaled some of the strawberry scented air, and released as a deep sigh. Time to ruin their day.

He sent a tendril of power into his throat to make his voice louder, and shouted, "All Head Campers, meeting in the Big House, ASAP!" All the campers froze, and their heads darted in the direction the loud shout had come from. They watched Nico's aviator jacket clad back as he headed up to the Big House to await his fellow leaders. Nico frowned as whispers broke out behind him. He was used to the usual mutterings concerning his dark attire, but today the words were different.

"That's Nico! He's the newest Avenger!"

"Most powerful son of Hades to ever live!"

"And he's the Ghost King!"

Nico began to walk faster, wanting to escape all the attention. He whirled around and snarled when he felt a hand clasp his shoulder.

"Whoa, Death Breath, someone woke up on the wrong side of the coffin this morning!" Percy greeted cheerfully.

Nico growled at him, "That wasn't funny the first time you said it, Kelp Head. This is the hundred and fourth. Get some new insults, idiot."

Percy just laughed at him, "So, what brings you to Camp, cousin? I thought you were all busy saving the world and had no spare time." Nico didn't answer, just stared at Percy meaningfully.

"Oh," Percy said softly, realization dawning on his features, "She's going to attack, isn't she?"

Nico nodded jerkily, and continued on his journey to the Big House, Percy following close behind him. As they entered the room, everyone looked up. The other cabin leaders were already there, and none of them looked happy. All of them wore varying expressions of worry and concern. They had their suspicions on what this meeting was about.

"Nico, my dear boy, how have the mortals been treating you?" Chiron asked him, kindly. Nico just waved the greeting away, preferring to get straight to the point.

"Gaea's attack is planned for tomorrow. She has an alliance with an alien race know as the Frost Giants, and I'm sure you can figure out their powers. She also has a large army of monsters, and an unlimited supply of Earthborn. SHIELD is evacuating as many mortals as it can from New York, and they need us there by tomorrow morning. Any questions?"

His fellow demigods looked shocked at his words. An attack already?

"Are you positive in this, Nico?" Chiron asked. "Mr. D. has yet to return from the last meeting on Olympus, and that was two days ago."

Nico scoffed at his words, "I wouldn't expect him to come back anytime soon. Gaea apparently found a way to force gods to fade, and according to Prometheus, all the gods are taking shelter on Olympus." Nico rolled his eyes, "Fucking cowards," he muttered. The clear sky rumbled with thunder, but Nico ignored it. His words were true.

Chiron looked troubled, "We have about one hundred demigods over the age of fifteen currently at Camp. I refuse to send anyone younger than that to battle." Nico nodded in agreement.

"We need to be in the city before tomorrow morning. That gives us the rest of the evening to prepare, and most of the night to rest. Make it clear that they only have to fight if they want to."

The others nodded, quite surprised at how Nico had taken control of the situation. He had become a strong leader, something no one would ever have expected have the lone son of Hades. Nico motioned for Percy to speak.

"Alright guys," Percy announced, "Hephaestus cabin, start the construction of as many traps and automatons as you can. Hermes cabin, we need you in New York and waking up as many of Daedalus' statues still functional, and setting them to defence. Ares cabin, arm the demigods and make sure everyone has armour. Apollo cabin, you better start enchanting your arrows, and see if you can collect all the godly food in Camp to ration out to everyone. We need to be prepared for casualties. Athena cabin, you know, do planning and stuff. The rest of you," Percy stared each of the cabin leaders in the eye, "Get your siblings ready for war."

Nico relaxed against Thalia's pine tree, the last of the evening light fading away, warming his face as it went, and he stroked Peleus' large scaled head as he watched the campers below rush around. Peleus was blowing clouds of smoke from his nostrils as he drifted off to sleep. The golden fleece glowed softly above him, and Nico was certain that if Gaea defeated them in the city, her next target would be the surviving demigods. Unlike Kronos, she wasn't interested in converting demigods to her cause. Well, except for Nico, that is. Nico frowned to himself, wondering what she wanted with him, and paused in his stroking of Peleus head. The dragon whined, and Nico hastily began petting him again. The activity in Camp showed no signs of stopping.

Nico musings were interrupted by a mechanical beep in his ear.

"Agent Emo Ninja, how goes it with the demigods?" Stark's annoying voice chirped in his ear. Nico growled before replying.

"We've got almost one hundred demigods willing to fight, all of which are over fifteen."

Tony paused before replying, "... Some of them are fifteen? Nico, I don't know about this, they could get killed." Nico scowled at Stark's words.

"Most of them have been training for battle since they were thirteen," Nico said, "That's when demigods get claimed. Also, they would have been undergoing daily attacks from monsters long before that if their godly parent was powerful enough. Don't underestimate us," Nico finished darkly.

"I'm not, Nico. I'm just not all that comfortable with sending kids to war," Tony replied, defensively. Nico sighed, and rubbed his eyes, tiredly.

"... I'm sorry, Stark. I'm not enjoying sending demigods to slaughter any more than you are, but that can't be helped when it comes to war, _especially _when you're a demigod. It's what we're bred for after all," he said bitterly, "To fight the god's fights so they don't have to."

"I'm sorry, Nico," Tony said softly. Nico heard him yell something at someone before he addressed Nico once again, "But look on the bright side, Emo Ninja! If we go down, you will never have to suffer the sight of a dandelion ever again!"

Nico's lips twitched from a suppressed smile, and he shook his head. "Fuck off, Stark," before ending the transmission. Nico let his head fall back against the tree, and stared up at the stars that were blinking into existence above him. He wondered which one Jotunheim belonged too...

"Whoa, Death Breath, you look deep in thought. Better not strain yourself," a feminine voice chirped from behind him.

"Thalia?" Nico asked.

"Who else, Goth Boy?" Thalia came into view, followed by the rest of the Hunters of Artemis. Nico got to his feet, and faced them, his hands in his pockets.

"My, my, Pinecone Face, it's been a year since I last saw you, and you're still as short as ever. What a pity." Thalia sent a bolt of lightning flying at him, but he easily dodged it. Hanging around a pissed off Thor during one of his Poptart cravings really sharpened up the reflexes. "Temper, temper. Is that any way to greet a beloved friend?"

"Beloved friend, my ass!" Thalia snarled, before laughing, walking up to Nico, and giving him a hug. "Whoa Death Breath, when did you grow up?"

"When I was ten," Nico replied, his voice instantly as cold as ice. His gaze swept over the Hunters, remembering how fast Bianca had abandoned him to join them. He closed his eyes, and calmed himself down. He couldn't blame the Hunters for Bianca's decision. It hadn't been her job to look after him. He had thought he was over his anger at his sister, but it seemed she had been right. Holding a grudge really was his fatal flaw. All these thoughts took only three seconds to travel through Nico's mind, and when he opened his eyes again, it was with a slight smirk. "Working with the Avengers doesn't tend to leave time for being lazy. I haven't had a full day off without it being interrupted by an attack on the city or a random assignment since joining. What I wouldn't give to be a Hunter, camping in woods, roasting marshmallows, you know, eating the day away..." he said innocently.

The Hunters grumbled and glared at him, awkwardness forgotten, muttering about how stupid boys were, but Thalia just laughed. "Moving on, we heard that the attack is happening tomorrow from Lady Artemis. She told us we could fight, and to ask you to inform the mortals that she will be assisting them in the battle. Our Lady does not fear death like some cowards," she said, proudly. Nico gave her a half smile. At least there would be _some_ godly assistance.

"You might as well help the Apollo campers. There enchanting arrows to explode, and shit like that. I'm sure they'd appreciate your help, because they need to work on healing ointments and stuff as well."

Thalia stared up at him, questioningly, "Why aren't you helping out, Nico?"

He shrugged. "I'm no good at that sort of thing. My skill set focuses mainly on killing things and I'm damn good at it. I'm heading down to the Underworld in a bit to see if I can convince Father to help out. Besides," he added, gesturing vaguely at the Camp, "Most of them get to nervous to talk when I'm around. They start stammering and tripping over things. It's ridiculous," Nico said in disgust.

"Either they're intimidated by you, or something else," she said with a smirk.

"Something else?" Nico asked in confusion.

"Yup," Thalia replied, "But we'll let the children of Aphrodite explain it to you." Nico glared at her, but he could feel his cheeks darkening slightly. He stalked off, muttering under his breath.

"Godsdamn fangirls." He entered the first shadow he could, but not before he heard the Hunters laughter echoing behind him.

He appeared in his father's throne room, to see Hades lounging on his throne of bones, moodily shooting balls of black fire at the beautiful plants Persephone had placed around the room. Nico wrinkled his nose in disgust at the sight of such cheerful flowers, an expression mirrored by his father. Hades looked up, and noticed his son.

"Nico, what a pleasure it is to see you. You've heard about Gaea's plans, I assume?" Nico nodded. "Hmmm, quite irritating. Another war so soon after the last. Thankfully, she has expressed no more interest in freeing the Titans since her last assault on the Underworld. Our guess is she doesn't wish to share the glory of our defeat with them."

Nico raised an eyebrow, but was pleased to hear at least they were safe from the Titans. "Father, I have come to make a request of you."

Hades sighed deeply, "You wish for me to fight?"

Nico blinked in surprise, "Well, yes..."

Hades raised his own eyebrow, "You really thought I was going to let my only son and heir fight an enemy as powerful as Gaea _without_ my assistance?"

"Ummm," Nico replied, intelligently.

Hades sighed, and shook his head at his son in amusement, "I will be joining the fight, son. I believe Artemis, Athena, Poseidon and Ares will be fighting also. The others have allowed their fear of death to cloud their judgement. At least in the event we fail, Olympus will have a few protectors."

Nico gazed at Hades in confusion, "Father, if two of the Big Three, Artemis, Athena, AND Ares are fighting alongside the demigods and the mortals, how can we fail?"

Hades sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, "Gaea is the Earth, Nico. She is the most powerful being to have ever lived. That is why we gods are able to fight alongside the demigods in this. So far, she has used but a fraction of her full power, and that is because she has yet to fully awaken. If she had captured you today, there would have been no escape for you. Whatever she wants with you, you mustn't allow her to have it, son. Tomorrow she will awaken fully, and she will have an unlimited supply of Earthborn at her disposal. Our only hope is that we take her down before she destroys too much of New York," he finished with a slight smile.

Nico approached the throne beside his father's and Persephone's, and dropped into in. As Prince, he had a place in the throne room. Hades gazed at his son in pride, before worry clouded his features. "Nico, you must promise me you will survive this. I have already lost your mother and Bianca. To lose you also would be unbearable."

Nico waved away his father's concern, "Don't worry, Dad. If I die, I'm sure you will soon after. You won't have to bear it too long. I've played Halo with you. If I die, we're all doomed." Hades swatted Nico's head, and could not help but laugh. Nico smiled back, but in his mind, happiness was nowhere to be found. _Gaea will die by my hand, _he thought viciously,_ If it's the last thing I do..._

**Thanks for reading, I'll update again tomorrow hopefully. Midterm, I have so much free time. Won't be anything on Thursday though, I'll be recovering from Halloween. Review if you want, as usual. I appreciate all the compliments. My ego has grown rather large since starting this. Blame yourselves!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry this update took so long. I **_**was**_** going to update, but then I got distracted by anime and Halloween and actual real life people. I'm as shocked as you are, truly...**

Nico returned to Camp from the Underworld in time to see the last couple of demigods and hunters enter the many vans owned by Camp Halfblood, that would deliver them to New York. Now dressed in full armour, he once again radiated an aura of terror that had nothing to do with stygian iron. It was just Nico's anger at the situation. So many were leaving, but how many would be coming back? Underage campers parted like the Red Sea as Nico approached the van in which he could sense his cousin's life force. He watched as Percy hopped out, no doubt wondering what Hades had said.

"I'll tell you along the way," Nico said before brushing past Percy, and entering the van himself. He sat down in one of the last two remaining seats, and his lips quirked in amusement as Percy sat down next to him, grumbling about how annoying Nico was. Nico just rolled his eyes.

"Alright Argus, we're ready," Percy called to the front of the van, and Argus waved back at him before starting the van, not saying a word. "So did your dad agree to help?" Percy asked in a low voice, as the vehicle began to fill up with the chatter of demigods who were enjoying the last of the calm before the storm. They would be fighting later that day, and no one knew who would live to see the next.

"Yeah. He said he was going to help, something about not letting his son fight Gaea by himself," Nico replied, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. The fact that his father cared for him so much both pleased and embarrassed him.

"My dad said pretty much the same thing," Percy replied with a laugh. "At least now we have two of the Big Three fighting with us. And in this invasion, we also have mortal back up. This can't be worse than the Titan War." His expression grew steely, "I will not lose any more friends to our homicidal grandparents, insanely powerful or not."

The tension in the air was broken as the demigod sitting behind Nico decided to make himself known.

"Nico!" an excited voice squealed from behind him, "How's life, man?" A familiar silver gloved hand landed on Nico's shoulder. Familiar or not, Nico grabbed the wrist and squeezed until his shoulder was relinquished. He didn't like when people touched him "Owww! Hey, is that any way to treat a friend? Especially a friend with whom you make an awesome team!"

"Elliot," Nico growled, "We've only ever fought together once, and at the end of that one time, I was unconscious. We basically sucked as a team."

"All the aliens died, didn't they?" Nico could hear the pout in the son of Hecate's voice, even if he couldn't see it, "We'll kill all these monsters in one go, just like we did last time!"

Nico closed his eyes in annoyance, and took a deep, calming breath, "Elliot, that won't work this time. Those aliens were all the same species, and after that spell, I had practically no energy to fight. This time, we've every single type of monster there is, Earthborn, and godsdamn Frost Giants. It might work on the Earthborn, but Gaea will just make more. It could also work on the Frost Giants, but then I wouldn't be able to fight all the _other_ creatures that will be trying to eviscerate me," Nico finished, shaking his head at Elliot's idiocy.

"Oh, yeah," Elliot replied sheepishly, "I kinda forgot the part where you fell asleep. I was a bit busy dancing last time... I'll just be going now..." Elliot retreated, sitting back in his own seat, thankfully silent for hopefully the rest of the trip. Nico sighed, and Percy suppressed a smile. For a kid with such an amazing power, Elliot could be really stupid.

When demigods arrived in an unusually quiet New York City, the sun was just beginning to peak above the horizon. Nico breathed in the crisp morning air, and led the army of demigods over to the Avengers Tower, which was the temporary base of operations during the attack. Although the Helicarrier was still undergoing repair work, there was still plenty of air support courtesy of SHIELD. Numerous planes and helicopters dotted the sky, filling the otherwise silent air with the sounds of their engines. Telling the others to wait in the lobby, Nico, Percy and Annabeth headed up to the Conference Room where the battle plans were being created.

Fury looked up, and nodded stiffly in greeting once he saw them, before returning his attention to the holographic map which was hovering over the large table. The rest of the Avengers were also seated at the table, all dressed in their armour, armed and ready to go, just like Nico and Percy.

"The demigods have arrived. Took you long enough. How many fighters did you bring?"

"Ninety two," Nico replied, scowling at the jab about the time it took for him to complete his task, "And we'll be assisted by my father, Artemis, Athena, Poseidon and Ares. Hopefully more of the gods will join in once they see their children being massacred" he finished, bitterly.

Percy sighed at this. He was really surprised at how some of the gods, such as Hermes, hadn't already volunteered themselves. After what had happened to Luke, he would have thought Hermes would be the first god to join in the fight.

"Good," Fury said, and turned his attention to Annabeth, "Ms. Chase, daughter of Athena?"

Annabeth looked surprised at being recognised, and nodded her head in affirmation.

"Athena's kids are good at strategy, or so I've been told by Nico. You got any input for our plans?"

The look of surprise on Annabeth's face became even more pronounced, but she hurried over to the table, and seated herself beside the agents who were organising things. Immediately, she began discussing tactics with them animatedly, and they started scribbling parts of the plans out, and rewriting them anew. Percy gazed at her with pride, until Fury stood up, and beckoned them over to stand by the window.

Once Nico and Percy were beside him, Fury began to speak. "We just got word from Thor, who as you can see, has returned from Asgard. He managed to track down the traitor, and got some rather disturbing information out of him. According to the traitor, Gaea's plans revolve around one thing."

"What is it?" Percy asked in excitement, "If we destroy whatever this thing is, maybe Gaea won't be able to win!"

"Nico," Fury said emotionlessly.

"Yeah?" Nico asked in confusion.

"No," Fury growled, "That's not why I said your name. Mr. Jackson asked what Gaea's plans revolve around, and I told him."

Nico and Percy both stared at him in shock.

"Me?" Nico asked incredulously.

"Goth Boy?" Percy asked at the same time, even more confused than Nico.

Fury nodded, "Apparently. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but Gaea needs di Angelo for whatever crazy plan she's concocted. If I had it my way," he said, his single eye glaring suspiciously at Nico, "You would be locked up for the duration of the attack, and forbidden to participate."

"No way," Nico snarled, "I don't give a fuck about Gaea's plans. What I _do_ give a fuck about is killing that bitch before she can do anymore harm. You won't be able to lock me up, and if you _did_ somehow manage it," he paused significantly, before hissing quietly, "I'd be pissed at you as well. You wouldn't like that."

Fury raised an eyebrow, "Enough with the threats, kid. I said _if_ I had it my way, you'd be locked up. Luckily, or unluckily for you, however you want to look at it, that decision wasn't up to me. The higher ups have decided to let you fight, because we will need all the help we can get to win this. But keep in mind that everyone fighting on our side in this war have been given authority to kill you if you show any sign of changing sides. Are we clear?"

"Whatever," Nico snarled, glaring. He couldn't believe those bastards! Kill him if he switched sides? Why did everyone assume he was so weak willed that one kidnapping by Gaea could possibly cause him to betray them?

"When do you think she'll be coming?" Percy asked, laying a restraining hand on Nico's shoulder, as he looked like he was ready to kill anyone in the room that annoyed him more.

"We have no exact information on when or how she will attack, only that it will happen today. We've got most of the civilians out, and all access to the city such as the tunnels, bridges and subway lines are being guarded by the human portion of our army. Send some of your demigods over to help them, as they're not all armed with celestial bronze, and our people won't be able to see through the Mist. We'll also need demigod guards for the Empire State Building, because I assume that's where she'll be heading, and-"

"Sir!" a SHIELD operative yelled from across the room, "We're out of time! She's here!"

"WHAT?" Fury sprinted across the room, yanked the screen the operative was gesturing at, and cursed.

"All units to Central Park, I repeat, ALL units to Central Park," he ordered into a communicator.

Nico and Percy hurried over to the screen that everyone was staring at, and Nico's hands clenched into fists at what he saw. The beautiful, undulating lawns of Central Park were gone, replaced by churned earth, out of which thousands of monsters were appearing, having been transported there by Gaea.

"Shit," Nico growled, "Were there any agents stationed in Central Park?"

Fury nodded, and held down the button that would connect him to the Central Park agents. "All agents, report." He released the button, and the sound of static filled the room. He tried again, "Agents! Report!" Static. Fury sighed, and released the button. The room was silent but for the foreboding sound of the static. The agents were most likely dead.

"There are always casualties in war," Steve said quietly, speaking for the first time since Nico had entered the room, "All we can do now is avenge them. That's our job, isn't it?"

The others nodded, before leaping into action, fiery determination bright in their eyes.

"Emo Ninja, if you don't mind?" Stark asked, his visor falling down over his face with a metallic _clang_.

Nico scowled, and nodded, "I'll drop us off in the middle of it. Be ready."

They all looked at each other, the team assembled, Loki included. Nico gathered the shadows, enveloping his team in darkness for what he hoped would not be the last time.

The appeared in the midst of pandemonium. Monsters and Earthborn surrounded them the moment they were released by the shadows. All uttering their preferred battle cries, the Avengers leapt into battle. At first, Nico tried to keep track of his friends, but too soon he was unable to because of the sea of enemies. Occasionally, as he slashed through enemy after enemy, leaving behind a trail of gold and dirt, he would catch a glimpse of his friends. The flash of dawn light off of Tony's armour, the huge creature that was Bruce as he smashed through monsters, but no sighting lasted longer than a second. Nico whirled and dodged, stabbing left and right, killing enemies on every turn. But still it wasn't enough. Sure, when the monsters died they stayed dead, but for every Earthborn Nico slaughtered, more rose from the earth. Nico swore he could hear the echoing giggle he knew to be Gaea, and cursed as the earth began to rise, attempting to pull him down.

With a yell, enemies surrounding him forgotten, Nico slammed his sword into the ground, and sent a pulse of energy into it. The ground around him morphed into glistening black stone, but no more than a couple of feet before it was stopped, and a crevice opened. Skeletal warriors leapt out, and began ravaging those around them, using weapons that had risen with them, or else their teeth and sometimes skeletal claws. Nico smirked. But he had become distracted.

Before he could react, a six pairs of huge earthen arms encircled him, and hoisted him off the ground. Nico cursed and struggled, but the beast was strong. Suddenly, there was an electrical _beep_ in his ear.

"Di Angelo!" Fury's voiced hissed out of the communicator, "Where are those gods you promised?"

"I'M A LITTLE BUSY," Nico roared, his ribs creaking, and with a burst of immense strength, he shoved himself out of the deathly embrace. With lightning fast speed, he sliced apart the offending Earthborn, and watched maliciously as it collapsed back to nothing. He held his free hand up to his ear, and attacked once again. "There, now I can talk." He killed three laistrygonians before he continued. "Dad said he and the others will arrive once Gaea does. They can fight her but not this army. That's for the demigods and mortals to deal with. Speaking of which," Nico ducked a punch from a Cyclops, and summoned up shadow that proceeded to consume the creature, "Where the fuck are they?"

"They're about to enter the battle. And I don't appreciate the tone, Agent di Angelo."

"Well you try have someone yell in your ear while you're getting a bear hug from an Earthborn," Nico snarked. He didn't get a reply. He returned his full attention to the battle, his skeletal soldiers surrounding him, and he allowed his internal shadows to emerge, where they enshrouded him in a cloak of darkness, slicing at the earth that was still trying to pull him down. Nico's eyes shone from within the darkness, fully black, and glowing with Hellfire along with his hands. He smiled darkly at the monsters surrounding him. Most were frozen with terror, while others turned tail and fled. Others simply disintegrated from the mere sight of Nico.

"Now, where were we...?"

Time had passed, whether it be minutes or hours, Nico didn't know, but he found himself back to back with Loki. They were surrounded by Earthborn. Most of the monsters had been sent back to Tartarus once the other reinforcements had arrived, but the Earthborn just kept on coming. They were both catching their breath, and allowing their powers some time to recharge.

"How are you, my friend?" Loki asked, his mischievous smile still in place, even as tired as he was. He hadn't had this much fun in ages!

"I'm doing all right. Just a few scrapes," Nico said as a deep gash on his arm gushed blood onto the ground. "You?"

Loki's left arm was hanging at an awkward angle, so he was brandishing his staff single handed, and his face had a few claw marks. "I am positively perfect. This has turned out to be much more fun then I previously anticipated. What a fine day this is, hmm?"

Nico sighed, "You sick bastard..."

Loki just laughed at him, and together they attacked once again. They stayed together as a team, passing the occasional ally locked in a death battle, helping out where they could. Though Nico was loath to admit it, he too was enjoying himself. His father was the god of death, and the park was now reeking of it. Death gave him power, the same as water gave Percy power. It was the way he was, and because of it, he was a demon on the battle field. It still wasn't enough, it seemed.

They fought and fought, slaying Earthborn over and over again, but still there came more. Nico cursed loudly as the ground erupted with another five for the one he had just killed.

"We need to block the earth, stop her from summoning more!" Nico shouted to Loki.

"I had guessed as much," Loki muttered to himself, staring at his still functioning hand. He had promised himself to never do this, but desperate times and all that. He grumbled to himself in disgust. He truly had been corrupted by these so called 'heroes'. With that thought, he allowed his true self to emerge. Nico glanced over at him, and did a double take. Since when was Loki blue?

"I know," Loki exclaimed dramatically, covering his eyes with his hair, while simultaneously skewering a giant with his staff, "I'm hideous."

Nico rolled his eyes, "Dude, shut up. You're blue, so what? Now use those ice powers for whatever the hell you're planning, already. I'd rather not you having a drama queen moment."

Loki grumbled and scowled at the son of Hades, "Well now I know who to turn to FOR NO SYMPATHY."

Nico smirked, "You expected it in the first place?"

Loki began to reply, but frowned. He had him there. Dismissing all thoughts, Loki dropped to one knee and was about to plunge his arms into the ground, his intent to freeze the soil, when a column of icy blue light descended from the sky, and slammed into the ground, throwing back monsters and mortals alike. Nico braced himself for the shockwave, and managed to keep his feet. He glared at the column, and gripped his sword tightly. Looked like the Frost Giants had arrived.

"Loki," he growled to his friend, "They want to kill you. Stay back and allow us to deal with – HEY!"

Loki had already transported himself towards the column of light, and stood patiently before it. As the light faded away, no less than two hundred Frost Giants were revealed.

"LOKI!" Nico shouted, and made to run forward, but found himself unable. He looked down, expecting to see earth, but instead saw ice encasing his feet. Loki had trapped him there.

He watched in fear as the lead Frost Giant advanced on Loki, a spear of ice encasing his blue fist.

"Treacherous Prince," he snarled, his alien face expressing disgust as he looked down on the still blue Loki in front of him, "You stand before us, not hiding behind the skirts of your Asgardian brother. Why?"

Loki gazed up at him, no hint of fear on his face. "You attack this planet because of me. Your King is dead because of me, and it is because of my people that your world lies in ruins. It is not the fault of the Midgardians. I will _not_ allow you to harm them."

"You will not allow us?" the giant asked incredulously, "I was informed that you yourself led the last attack on this planet. Why the change of heart, Prince?"

Loki winced slightly at the title, before replying simply, "Strangely, I find myself growing fond of these humans, no matter how much I wish not to. It is my fault you have come here, and so I will take responsibility." He sank to his knees before the giant, and said what no one ever thought they would hear from the infamous Loki Laufeyson. "I give you my own life as forfeit. That is why you have come here, yes? After I am dead, there is no point in you to staying here. This is _not_ your war. What say you, Frost Giant?"

Loki closed his eyes, and awaited the giant's decision. The stupid mortals really had destroyed him.

"NO! BROTHER!" Thor yelled, before he too was encased in ice to prevent any movement. Nico slashed at the ice, using all his strength and powers to break free, but it would not be broken. Loki was more powerful than he had previously thought.

They all gazed in horror as the Frost Giant lowered his ice covered arm, and placed it over Loki's heart. Loki did nothing...

**Mwahahaha, cliff hanger. Please don't get angry, dear reader, ima update tomorrow :P**


	15. Chapter 15

The Frost Giant gazed down at Loki, his red eyes glowing emotionlessly. "Very well, Laufeyson. If that is your wish." The giant plunged his hand forward, directly at Loki's heart. Nico yelled for his friend, and the muffled sound of Thor's roar could be heard through his own prison of ice. But their voices died away as they were both shocked into silence. The Frost Giant's fist was hovering over Loki's heart, but the spear of ice had been banished, leaving the giant's fist bare. Loki opened his eyes in surprise, and gazed up at the giant before him.

"Wait, what are you doing? I thought you came here to kill me?"

"We came to this world to kill an evil traitor, Loki Laufeyson. A traitor you may be, but evil? No. You would sacrifice yourself for these puny humans. That is not evil. It is honourable. Noble. The way of a Prince." The giant withdrew his hand from Loki's chest. "Although you were raised by the Asgardians, you are still Jotun, even if you hate us, your own people, as they do. We have suffered greatly at the hands of the Asgardians, and we will no doubt suffer more in the future. Now, we are without a king, the last murdered by his own son, when he had no intention of claiming the throne for himself. Whatever you think of us, Laufeyson, we are not evil. Yes, we hate Odin, and most of us hate you, but we do not take lives unless it is necessary. You are perhaps mad, but I do not think you seek to harm us. It seems we have been given false information."

Loki, still kneeling before the army of blue giants, scrunched up his face in confusion. "What information could possibly cause you to travel so far just to kill me?"

The giant laughed humourlessly, "So I am correct in guessing you do not plan on building an army of human warriors in order to invade Jotunheim and massacre the remaining Jotun that still live?"

"WHAT?!"

"I thought as much. The earth goddess has a tongue more silver than even yours, Trickster."

Suddenly, beautiful laughter filled the air, causing all the Earthborn and monsters to fall to their knees, bowing, and the mortals and demigods to ready themselves for the arrival of a larger threat.

"The Jotun have arrived, yet they do not fight. Are you cowards?" Gaea's voice whispered through the air, but the goddess was nowhere to be found. The giants bristled at the insult, but otherwise did not acknowledge the comment

"You lied to us, Earth Mother," the lead Jotun growled, once again allowing ice to encase his fists. Loki rose from his position on the ground and readied his staff after waving a hand to release Nico and Thor from their icy prisons, "The Prince was not planning an attack. You manipulated us into leaving our home."

Gaea's laughter echoed again, "Me? How do you know the Asgardian speaks the truth? He betrayed your kind once before. What is to stop him doing so again? You agreed to fight for me, Frost Giant," her voice lowered dangerously, "Do you not honour your promises?"

The Frost Giant growled, anger flashing in his eyes, "This time, no. It appears we and the Prince are more similar than we thought." He held up a blue arm, and slashed it downwards through the air. "Jotun! Kill the Earthborn!"

With terrifying battle cries, the giants attack, using their weapons of ice to butcher enemy after enemy, and freezing them solid if they came into contact with the giant's blue skin. Nico sprinted over to Loki, who was staring after his kinsmen with a look of shock on his face. Nico watched Thor as he studied Loki from where he stood, before Thor turned away, rejoining the battle. The Asgardian knew Loki wouldn't react well if he tried to hug him.

"Well," Loki said when he felt Nico arrive beside him, "That went better than expected. Look! My head is still attached to my neck."

"Loki?" Nico asked.

"Yes?" Loki answered, as he turned to face the son of Hades. He was knocked to the ground, however, when Nico's fist collided with his face. "What was that for?!" Loki yelped, jumping to his feet and advancing on Nico.

Nico stood his ground. "You suicidal bastard! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"What indeed," Loki murmured, rubbing his bruised cheek, "But we will have to finish this talk later. I feel like killing a few hundred more dirt minions. What say you, Emo Ninja?"

"Don't you dare try something like that again, Goat Hat," Nico snarled, before turning away to rejoin the chaos, "Or I'll kill you."

"But I would already be dead," Loki called after Nico's retreating back.

"I'm the Prince of the Underworld," Nico said in a dark voice, "I have my ways," before disappearing back into the sea of Earthborn and monsters. Loki shook his head, and pointed his staff at a few Earthborn, using his magic to blow them to smithereens.

"That child really needs to work on expressing his feelings," Loki muttered to himself as dust came raining down, "Threatening to kill people when he's worried isn't very nice."

Gaea's laughter echoed through the battlefield, as she created new Earthborn for every one they destroyed.

"This is getting tedious!" Nico roared as he ripped off an Earthborn's head with his bare hands. "Hey! Jotun!" he yelled at a passing giant. The blue giant paused in his path, and whirled to face Nico, ready for an attack. "Could you guys freeze the ground or something? We can't stop this bitch if every time we kill something, it gets replaced!"

The Jotun grunted in understanding, before bending its head back, and bellowing into the sky. All the surrounding Jotun looked to the sound, and watched as he slammed his fists into the ground, causing ice to explode outwards, freezing the soil. Where the ice touched, no more Earthborn rose, and Nico grinned as he watched the other Jotun do the same. _Hmmm, Gaea was right to want these guys as her allies._

Time passed, and eventually the defenders of New York had surrounded the remaining invasion force. With the frozen ground crunching under their feet, they advanced.

"What were we so worried about?" Tony scoffed, and he patted Bruce on his large, green arm, "That wasn't too hard, now was it?"

Nico frowned to himself. It _hadn't _been too difficult, and that alone worried him to no end. He and Percy _were _extremely powerful demigods, and along with the other demigods, Hunters, Jotun and mortals, they _would _have been able to defend New York, but Nico could not help but feel that Gaea had more tricks up her sleeve.

Nico slapped the back of Tony's armoured head before he could say anything else. "Gaea hasn't made an appearance yet, this could be some sort of diversion. Be on your guard."

Gaea's laughter sounded once again, followed by words, "Well done, my dearest Nico, so intelligent. You see right through me, I'm flattered."

"Shut up, and show yourself," Nico snarled, holding his sword out in front of him, summoning Hellfire to his free hand, "Enough with the games."

"But playing with your friends is so much fun, Nico," her voice whispered.

"Enough," Steve announced, "We've destroyed your army, and those Greek gods will be arriving soon. You can't win this battle, dirt lady."

"Dude, shut up!" Percy hissed, "You're just gonna piss her off!"

"Can't win?" Gaea asked in a soft, dangerous voice. "You underestimate me, foolish mortal. I cannot be defeated. I am the most powerful being in this Universe. You think my creations were the attack force?" She laughed evilly, "No, they were just created so my Chosen would have an easier time massacring you pathetic creatures. Now you will all die by his hand..."

"Where is this 'Chosen'" Clint asked, "He can't be that powerful if he needs his mommy to defeat his enemies for him."

'Nico', Gaea's voice echoed in his mind, 'Destroy these mortals. See how they doubt your strength? You must show them your true powers, my Chosen. Destroy them! NOW!'

"Get out of my mind!" Nico snarled, gripping his head with his armoured hands. In his mind he slashed at the faint presence he knew to be Gaea, as she whispered dark words into his thoughts.

"Nico, what's wrong?" Natasha asked anxiously, "Is she messing with your head?"

Nico didn't answer her, just gritted his teeth. He could feel a stabbing sensation as Gaea clawed her way through his mind, searching through his memories, all the while whispering. If he was anyone else, he would undoubtedly be on the ground, howling from the pain, but he was stronger than that. Her attack on his mind had only succeeded in causing him to hunch over, and for him to screw up his eyes, which had begun to turn fully black, only this time with streaks of gold flecked throughout.

'Serve me, and I will make you a god!' She was trying to tempt him into becoming her servant, while also needling at his mind, searching for a weakness to exploit. But Nico was a son of Hades. _Never show weakness._

With an almighty roar, his power exploded outwards, ripping Gaea out of his mind with a huge wave of darkness. Nico finally fell to knees, holding himself up with shaking arms. He breathed in deeply, and he could feel blood pooling beneath his mask from his nose. He coughed, and pushed himself to his feet. Loki grabbed his arm when he was almost there, and helped him up the rest of the way. Nico pushed his concerned friend away, annoyed, and ripped off the mask obscuring his face. As soon as it was removed, he mopped at the blood dripping from his nose.

"Nico!" Percy said anxiously, "Remember what Fury said! Gaea needs you for her plans, you can't let her win!"

"You're a little late, Kelp Head," Nico said with irritation, "I already kicked the bitch out of my head."

"Oh," Percy replied, frowning, "It's just, you still have gold in your eyes." Nico's gold flecked eyes widened, but before he could answer, Gaea's furious voice filled the air.

"So, son of Hades. You refuse to serve me even when I offer you Godhood. If you will not serve me willingly, then I'm afraid I will have to force you."

"What?" Nico replied incredulously, "Turning my mind to mush_ wasn't_ forcing me?"

"Far from it," She whispered menacingly, "It seems I must become more involved than I had previously planned. Remember, this is your fault, Ghost King."

Immediately, the ground began to shake with incredible tremors, knocking the Avengers and the rest of their army flying in different directions, and causing the remaining monsters and Earthborn to disintegrate. Nico hit the ground hard, and was immediately captured by the dreaded earth tendrils. He managed to slash at them, and got to his feet, unsteadily because of the localised earthquake Gaea was creating. Before he could take another step, however, the ground wrapped around his ankles, causing him to fall backwards. Instead of hitting the ground again, like he was expecting, a pair of glowing golden arms wrapped around him, and he was jerked back against someone's body.

"Gaea," he growled, and tried to stab at her behind him with his sword. Before it could harm her, the earth rose, and wrapped around his wrist. Nico tried to pull his hand free until he heard a sickening _snap_. He snarled in pain as his sword fell from nerveless fingers, his wrist now broken.

Gaea tutted in his ear, "Now Nico, is that any way to treat your beloved Goddess?" she said maliciously. Nico responded by tugging a dagger from within his armour with his still functioning hand, and stabbing the blade into what he guessed was her stomach.

Gaea howled in pain, and Nico smiled in triumph until her hand snaked around his neck, and began to squeeze, preventing him from taking a breath. Nico choked, and tried to break her hold with his free hand. As his vision began to darken, she loosened her hold slightly, and Nico inhaled shallowly, the air painful to his bruise throat. He summoned shadows, his mind now a bit clearer, and sent them hurtling towards them. They would stab him as well, but Gaea would be hurt, and she wouldn't be able to use him for her plans. Before they were impaled, Gaea created a shield of stone, and the shadows disintegrated. The shield lowered itself back into the ground. Then, she materialised a glowing golden blade in the hand that wasn't wrapped around Nico's throat. His eyes widened in alarm as she lowered it to rest over his frantically beating heart. She said nothing as she held the blade before him, the only sound the incredible noise of the earthquake that was still ravaging the ground, except for where they were standing, making it impossible for his friends to gain the feet.

"Remember," Gaea whispered, the dagger glinting in the sun, "You brought this upon yourself," and plunged the dagger into Nico's heart. His vision plunged into blackness.

Percy watched as Gaea grabbed his cousin, and when he tried to escape, subsequently broke his wrist. Percy felt anger like never before, and renewed his efforts in trying to stop the earthquake. This _was_ his father's domain, so this was right up his alley. Unfortunately, Percy was finding it difficult to control them, as they were created by Gaea. Just as he managed to calm the earth long enough to stand up, he looked up again at Nico. What he saw made him scream with fury.

Gaea had just stabbed his cousin in the chest with a glowing dagger. She released Nico, and he dropped to his knees, his body limp as he fell forward.

"NICO!" screamed Percy. The earthquake stopped as soon as it started, and Percy was on his feet in an instant, at Nico's side, and turning his body over, tears pricking his eyes. _Not Nico..._

Percy slapped Nico's cheeks, trying to wake him up, but knowing it was no use. He had been stabbed in the heart. He had to be dead. He heard Gaea's laughter, and looked up in time to see her golden form sink back into the ground. He cursed, and returned his attention back to Nico, and gasped as the glistening golden dagger, stained with Nico's blood, melted into his cousin's wound, healing it.

"Nico!" Percy yelled at his body, convinced that Nico had somehow managed to heal himself. Tears fell from his eyes, and he smiled hopefully as he watched Nico start to breath once again. "Guys! He's still alive!" Percy was overcome with relief as Nico began to slowly open his eyes. "It's okay, man, your fine. I don't know what she did to you, but-" he froze mid sentence as he met Nico's gaze.

His eyes were pure gold, the whole eye, fixed in a blank expression.

"Nico?" Percy questioned weakly. Nico didn't answer, just punched Percy in the chest, sending him flying backwards. As he landed on the ground, Percy knew that if he wasn't invincible, Nico would most likely have broken all of his ribs. "No!" Percy yelled, "Nico, stop!" He watched in horror as Nico got to his feet, and summoned his sword to his hand, his face expressionless. His possessed golden eyes were glowing with Gaea's control. "Snap out of it! Fight her, Nico!"

Nico just gazed at him emotionlessly, and using his arm with the broken wrist, gestured dismissively at Percy. A wave of darkness flew from his hand, striking Percy, and sending him flying backwards again.

"Nico! What are you doing!?" Steve yelled, as he got to his feet along with the other Avengers in time to see Nico attack Percy. Nico's head swivelled towards them, and they gazed at his emotionless face in horror. "Nico?" Another wave of darkness later, and the Avengers were sent flying through the air, where they landed beside Percy.

"What happened?" Clint demanded, aiming an arrow at his supposed team mate.

"Gaea's controlling him somehow," Percy exclaimed in horror.

"Well done, my warrior," Gaea's voice echoed through the air once again, "You possess the power to destroy gods. Destroy these mortals quickly so you can continue your task."

With a bright flash, the godly reinforcements finally arrived. Hades, Poseidon, Artemis, Athena and Ares looked around, seeing the enemy dead, and that they're side had suffered fewer casualties. They also saw a lack of Gaea. Hades stepped forward, seeing his son in the middle of the carnage, and began to walk forward. "Nico? Are you alright?"

Athena searched the area, warily, "I definitely sense Gaea's presence. Be careful, Hades."

Hades ignored her, growing worried as his son refused to answer him, still facing his mortal team.

"Lord Hades!" Percy yelled, "Don't get any closer!"

Hades ignored the demigod, and walked until he was directly behind his son. "Nico," he said, grasping his son's shoulder, and turning him around to face him, "What-" he broke off, eyes widening with horror.

His son's once beautiful dark eyes, were now gold.

"Kill the gods, Nico," Gaea's evil, yet beautiful voice, whispered.

"Yes, my Lady," Nico replied in monotone, and attacked.

**Haha, another cliffhanger. I feel evil. This makes you wanna read more though. Me and my dastardly schemes. Review if you want.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks for all the amazing reviews, especially from the people who review every update. I really appreciate it.**

A wall of gold tinged shadows smashed into Hades, and he flew through the air, colliding with a tree. He tried to struggle to his feet, but found himself too weak to rise. He slumped down onto the ground, his body slowly losing its godly glow. Everyone stared at Nico in shock. Nico clenched his fingers, allowing the shadows to fade, and held his hand up to his face. For a moment, what looked like confusion flitted across his face, before Gaea's voice disrupted his murky thoughts.

"Kill them Nico, not just harm them. They are your enemies. Turn them _all_ to dust."

Nico's face turned blank again and he shot a huge mass of Hellfire at the Avengers. They all leapt out of the way, and hid behind whatever cover they could find. The Captain cursed as he peaked over the rock he was crouching behind to watch the gods attack Nico. The son of Hades ducked and swerved away from their attacks with none of his usual grace. He moved as if he were a wooden puppet, like someone else was in control of his body.

Steve winced as his communicator beeped in his ear, followed by Director Fury's voice.

"What's happening, Captain?" Fury growled, "We've lost visual and I don't want to risk sending anything overhead."

"Sir, you need to withdraw the soldiers!" Steve shouted, as a massive explosion erupted behind him. "They're gonna get killed if they stay here any longer! The team will help the gods deal with this."

"Deal with what? Is Gaea there? How can you help if it's her? Nico told us that the Greeks would deal with her once she appeared. I'm ordering you to withdraw if that's the case."

"With all due respect sir, we can't leave a teammate behind. She's done something to Nico, and we need to help him."

Fury growled, his voice stuttering for a moment as the amount of power being thrown around in the battle behind Steve increased and interfered with the broadcast. "I _knew_ we shouldn't have involved him." He paused, "Captain, your orders are to neutralize the threat if you can't get through to him. We can't risk Gaea taking the city."

These words pissed Steve off. "With all due respect, _Director_, I'm not killing my friend. We'll get through to him."

"You'd better hope you do," Fury growled.

As soon as the communication ceased, Steve searched the battlefield, and watched as the soldiers, both mortal and demigod alike, began to retreat, leaving the Avengers, Frost Giants and gods to deal with Nico.

"We need to get through to him!" Natasha yelled from a few metres away, where she was crouched behind a mound of earth, the remnants of an Earthborn. "Make him snap out of it like we did with Clint!"

The others nodded in agreement, eyes alight with determination. "Alright!" Steve shouted, "GO!" They leapt out from behind their shelters, and ran towards the explosions.

Poseidon jumped back as spears of darkness sliced into the ground, exactly where he had been standing. He watched as Nico dodged the arrows shot at him by Artemis, effortlessly avoiding the fast moving projectiles, and lifted a hand. Once again, a wave of darkness flew outwards, but the goddess managed to dodge. Hades had yet to rise after being hit with the last wave, and no one else wanted to sample it. Poseidon summoned water, and sent it crashing at his nephew, watching with satisfaction as the boy was encased. He then froze the liquid, and Athena, Artemis and Ares gathered energy in their hands in preparation to blast the frozen boy into a million pieces.

Before they could, the ice prison exploded with dark energy, and sharp shards of shadow tainted ice hurled towards the gods. Artemis managed to dodge most of them, only getting a shallow gash in her arm, as did Athena, but with a gash to the leg. Poseidon was hit in the chest with a rather large shard, and another caught Ares in the stomach. They all fell to their knees, leaking golden blood.

Athena analysed the situation, even as her body was wracked with pain. She could feel her strength being leached from her, through the wound in her arm. She realised what had happened in a flash. "His power! This is the weapon that Gaea created to make us fade! If we come into contact with this dark energy, there is no doubt in my mind that we will fade. Sister, help me!"

Quickly, Artemis and Athena removed the ice shards from the other two, and winced as their hands went numb, and their wounds began to leak blood faster. They helped the other gods to their feet, and a split second later they were forced to leap into the air to avoid the roaring ball of black flames sent at them courtesy of a now shivering Nico.

A small frown graced Nico's face, and he tilted his head to the side as he studied the weakened gods. He slowly raised the hand that was clutching his sword, and was about to slash it through the air, no doubt with another attack, when a bolt of lightning shot down from the clear sky, striking him. Nico was knocked to his knees, and all the air was forced from his lungs as his body was electrocuted. Thalia had arrived. Another bolt of lightning shot towards him from the side, but this time Nico had time to raise a hand, and create a shield. Thor bellowed in anger as his attack was blocked, annoyed that a demigod had managed to hit Nico, and he could not. He threw Mjolnir at the shield, but unfortunately, it held. He summoned the hammer back to his hand, and the Avengers attacked, along with Thalia, Percy, and the Frost Giants. They attacked as one, using everything they had in their attempts to land a blow on the son of Hades, and knock him to his senses.

This attack gave the gods some time to recover for the crippling blows Nico had dealt them, and Poseidon limped to Hades side as they watched in shock as Nico defended himself against just under two hundred attackers. Nico parried and blocked, stabbed and slashed, and all the while his face remained blank of emotion, his golden eyes glowing sickly. This did nothing to deter his attackers, and all the while they fought him, they talked, trying to bring him back from Gaea's control. They watched as Nico ignored their pleas, throwing back giants and friends alike. Too soon, all the giants had been knocked to the ground, or cast away from the battlefield, where they landed on the ground with an almighty _crash_. Poseidon flashed to his brother's body, and turned him over to see Hades eyes were closed, golden blood was leaking from them like tears. His glowing form was now little more than a flickering flame, and Poseidon shook the Lord of the Underworld, desperately trying to awaken him. Hades was fading, and Poseidon was scared. It was not possible to kill a god. Was it? He tried sending power into his fellow god's body, but to no avail. They needed a powerful healer.

'APOLLO!', he yelled in his mind, 'Get down here, you coward!'

It took a few moments for the god of the Sun to appear, and when he did, he immediately turned his attention to the fading Hades. He laid his hands on the chest of the weakly glowing god, and his eyes widened behind his sunglasses. "I can't heal him... We were watching from Olympus, and from what I gathered, once you hit with that power, you'll fade. Hades doesn't have much time left, and neither do you by the look of that wound." Apollo held his hand out towards Poseidon, but he swatted his hand away.

"You send you couldn't heal these wounds," he said, gruffly. "If I am to fade, I will do so on my terms. With that bitch's heart turned to pulp in my hand." He gazed down sadly at his brother, before gazing at Apollo, his expression furious. "At least we came to fight her, not hide like cowards up on Olympus. I go to help my son, just as Hades did. Can you say the same for your own children?" Poseidon flashed back to the others, feeling himself grow weaker and weaker.

The fact that Nico wasn't killing his attackers seemed to give the Avengers new hope, and they began to plead with Nico even more. Nico stared blankly at the mortals surrounding him. They had attacked him, and interrupted the task given to him by Gaea. He would have to destroy them... but he didn't want to. Why? He should just kill them all, and then finish off the gods that dared to oppose the Earth Mother. But when he lifted his hand, preparing to destroy them with his dark power, he found that he could not. He knew he should kill them, but at the same time, he didn't want to kill them. His brain was beginning to ache. Why was he here in the first place? Why did his enemies look familiar?

"Death Breath, _come on_!" a dark haired boy yelled, interrupting Nico's musings. He frowned slightly. Death Breath. That sounded familiar.

"Nico!" the man with the green caped called, "Do not allow her to bewitch your mind! Remember who you are!"

He was a servant of Gaea.

The pain in his head increased, and Nico winced slightly.

"Be quiet," he commanded, monotonously, and summoned the dreaded energy into his hand, vacantly watching the flashes of gold that permeated the mass of shadows. The frown came back. Why was there gold...? He dismissed the thought, and threw it at the mortals. They managed to avoid it, but a few of them were caught in the blast, and sent flying. The giant green monster charged at him, and Nico punched it in the chest once it reached him, dodging its huge fists. The creature was knocked backwards, but got back to its feet immediately, eyeing Nico warily. Nico looked down at his hands, one of which was aching. His arm was broken. Who had done that...?

"Jesus Christ, Emo Ninja! Stop attacking us! We're your friend!" the metal man yelled. Nico paused at the name, his eyebrow twitching in irritation.

Tony noticed this, and smiled beneath his mask. Nico began to advance on him, and Tony backed away, taunting the possessed teenager as he went.

"What's wrong, _Emo Ninja_? You don't like me calling you that? Is it _annoying_ you?"

Nico paused at the name, his eyebrow twitching again, this time more viciously.

"Guys," Tony said to the others, addressing them through their earpieces. "Nico's still in there. His nickname is managing to piss him off. If you've got anything you want to say to him, say it now. When he gets angry it looks like he breaks the control a bit." Talking to Nico once again, who had yet to move after the last comment, he said, "You know, ever since I first met you, I've wanted to say this. Your hair is ridiculous. I know it probably makes you feel mysterious, but in all honesty, you look like a homeless sheepdog. No offence..."

Nico's signature glare appeared over his golden eyes, which flickered momentarily, and he growled in irritation. 'It's working!' Tony thought.

"And seriously," Tony continued, "Your clothing. Dear God, you need more colour! Everything you own is black! I would know, I searched your room, which contained way too many knives by the way. I get that you're obsessed with death and everything, but a little bit of pink in your wardrobe never hurt anybody."

Nico's lip curled in disgust, and he visibly shuddered, his eyes turning black. His eyes then widened, and he looked around him in confusion.

"Stark? Wha-"

"NO!" Gaea's mind smashed into Nico's, and he fell to the ground with a strangled yelp. He struggled mentally, but he was too weak. She took control of his mind again, and this time she didn't leave. "You try and steal him," Gaea snarled, her voice overlaying Nico's as she used his body to speak, two voices speaking simultaneously, "I will not let you take him! He will destroy you all!" She leapt forward in Nico's body, and punched Tony, causing him to shoot backwards. He landed in a heap, groaning, and sat up, the suit's light flickering before righting itself. Before he could get to his feet, she was on him again, smashing Nico's fist down, and slamming it into his chest. Tony's impact on the ground caused a crater to form beneath him, and Nico's fist just kept increasing the pressure. "You will die here, mortal fool," their combined voices hissed, until a shield crashed into Nico's body, knocking him off of Stark.

Tony sat up, and saw he was surrounded by the rest of the team. Loki held a hand to the suit, and used his magic to repair the damage, as the dents weren't allowing Tony to breathe properly.

Tony got to his feet, and stood beside them, aiming his glowing palms at the snarling form of Nico. Thor was swinging his hammer, Steve had retrieved his shield and was holding it before him, the Hulk was growling menacingly, Natasha and Clint had a gun and bow trained on Nico, and Percy and Thalia had their weapons ready.

Gaea just laughed at them, "Mortal scum. You believe you have a chance against us? Look to your weak gods. They can barely move because of the wounds they have been dealt, and Hades fades to nothing as we speak." Her control over Nico faltered for a moment at these words, but she wrestled it back. "And you mortals dare to challenge _me_?" The double voice laughed again, and she smiled an evil smile that didn't belong on Nico's face, "Very well."

She held up a hand, and began to charge it with mottled gold and black energy. Her opponents crouched defensively, ready to move when she fired, but she didn't. She was staring at Nico's hand, which was visibly shaking. She tried to struggle against it, but couldn't stop the hand as it pointed itself at its own chest.

"Not a chance, Grandmother," Nico said, darkly, and this time he spoke without Gaea distorting his voice. His face contorted, and blood dripped heavily from his nose, eyes and ears, as he battled desperately against her control. He had already harmed his father. He would not harm his friends.

Gaea's voice screamed in rage, and she tried to vacate his body, knowing what he was planning. But he didn't let her. "A little taste of your own medicine," he whispered, and fired the energy into his chest. Gaea screamed, and this time her voice filled the air as the shadows struck them. Nico heard the distressed screams of his friends before his vision fled him.

Nico became aware of the pain. It was everywhere, burning his skin, crushing his bones, and it was originating from his chest. He coughed, and began to choke on the blood that filled his throat. Hands pushed him over so he was lying on his side, and he coughed up the fluid that was filling his lungs.

"-he alright?" he heard Percy ask anxiously.

"Kid, he just shot himself in the chest... I'm sure he'll be fine!" came Stark's reply. Nico groaned, and coughed some more, opening his eyes blearily. He looked up, and his gaze was met with by those of his concerned friends.

"Nico!" Thalia yelled, and launched herself at him. She was unaware that he was trying to speak to her until she felt something prodding her side. "Huh?" She looked down at Nico, and saw that he was turning blue from lack of air.

"Get off me," he moaned in a hoarse voice. The others laughed, and Nico glared at them. "Why do you all look so cheerful?" he asked, angrily. Their smiles faltered.

"Gaea's destroyed, isn't she?" a newly transformed Bruce asked in confusion.

"Far from it. Nico only banished her from his body. My guess is she has just retreated. Perhaps she was injured," the deep voice of Poseidon came from behind them. Percy leapt to his feet and rushed to his father, gasping when he noticed the wound on his father's chest, and his diminishing glow.

"Father, are you alright?"

"No son," Poseidon said sadly, "I'm fading, as are the others who were harmed by Nico," he stared at Nico, accusingly. Nico stared back at him, feeling guilt gnawing at his heart, but not allowing anything to show on his face. He painfully got to his feet, ignoring his body as it screamed at him to stop moving. He slowly limped over to the Sea god, and held out a hand. Poseidon pointed his trident at him, until Percy grabbed his arm.

"He's Nico again, Dad." Poseidon cautiously lowered his weapon. Nico raised an eyebrow, as if asking for permission, and Poseidon nodded. Nico placed his hand on the wound, and tried to pull his power out of it. He felt the tendrils of darkness tighten their grip in the wound, reluctant to let go, but Nico kept pulling. Finally, after much wincing on both Nico and Poseidon's part, the shadows released him.

And latched onto Nico instead.

Nico gritted his teeth from the pain as he felt the shadows stab into his hand, shooting into his body. It was extremely painful, but Nico didn't allow the pain to show on his face. He removed his hand, and Poseidon gasped in relief, his body beginning to glow once again, and his golden blood clotted in his wound.

"Thank you," Poseidon said gratefully, "What did you do?" He paused, studying Nico's face in concern. "Are you alright?"

Nico ignored the last sentence. "I just removed the shadows in your wound. They were siphoning away your life force. Eventually they would have weakened you enough that you would have faded away."

"Nico," Natasha repeated, "Are you alright."

"Yeah," he replied, shrugging, and suppressing the wince the movement caused, "It was my power. It can't harm me," he lied.

The others sighed in relief, but Poseidon eyed him doubtfully. "Your father is the worst off," he said gravely, "Heal him."

Nico's eyes widened and he sprinted over to where the other gods were crouched, ignoring the pain the movement caused. He skidded to a halt beside his father, and dropped to his knees. His father's skin, usually a deathly white colour, was now practically translucent. It was hard to focus on him, the edges of his form blurring slightly, and Nico knew that if half of the power used to attack him hadn't originated from Hades in the first place, he had inherited the shadows from his father, Hades would already be dead.

He placed his hands on his father's body, dropping his sword, and began tearing the gold tainted darkness out of him. The moment the last one had been reabsorbed back into Nico, Hades began to glow once again, and Nico felt his heart stutter excruciatingly in his chest. Once he saw his father was alright, though he didn't wake up, Nico turned to the other gods and removed the shadows from them too. By the time they were clear, every beat of Nico's heart was causing him intense pain. He ignored his pain wracked body, and stood on shaky feet.

"Gaea set up camp in Death Valley," he tried to say steadily, but he could not prevent his voice from wavering slightly, and his legs were shaking from supporting his weight. "We need to go and finish her off. Whatever the fuck that gold dagger did, I can still feel the powers it gave me. Gaea is a god too, so that means I can make her fade. We need to finish this today."

The others nodded in agreement, and they prepared themselves to be transported back to the desert by Poseidon. The gods were still weak from their ordeal, so they would be staying behind, and Nico had been quick to inform them that he could deal with Gaea without them. They were inclined to believe him, as he had royally kicked their collective asses just minutes before.

Before Poseidon sent them on their way, however, he grasped Nico's shoulder and turned him around to face him. "Are you sure you can do this?" he asked.

"Yeah," Nico said, giving him a weak smirk. "If she feels as crap as I do, this'll be a piece of cake." Poseidon nodded and back away.

Just before they were enveloped in the sea smelling mist, Nico saw his father's eyes open, and immediately focus on him. Nico watched as his eyes widened in horror, and he tried to sit up as he saw Nico's aura. Nico smiled at him sadly before they disappeared.

Because he had been lying. The shadows _had _harmed him. In fact, they were killing him.

**It isn't a cliff-hanger! Don't kill me! Next update will be Friday probably. Review if you want. Thanks for reading**


	17. Chapter 17

**Okay, okay, maybe it **_**was **_**a cliffhanger... but look! I have a new update for you! So no one needs to kill me... Put the knife down...  
**

The last time Poseidon dropped the Avengers off in Death Valley, it had been a smooth journey. It had only taken about a heartbeat to transport them from New York to California, and there had been no trouble with breathing and the like.

This time, however, Poseidon was severely injured, courtesy of Nico. The moment the sea mist enveloped them, they had no air, and those not half sea god or wearing waterproof armour felt like they were drowning. It took significantly longer to deliver them to their destination, and by the time they arrived, soaked and shocked, they were gasping for breath, having gone without air for the better part of thirty seconds.

The watery transportation spat them out, and they fell to their knees, the majority of them clutching their throats. Like the others, Percy was knocked down by the abruptness of the travel, but he could breath under water. He got to his feet and brushed of his still dry clothes, confused when he looked up to see his cousin's team lying on the ground and soaking wet. He hastily gestured, and the water removed itself from their clothing. He scratched his head sheepishly as they all began to get to their feet, still coughing.

"Sorry guys, Dad wasn't feeling the best," he said uncomfortably, before he brightened, "At least you're not all covered in blood now. Free bath!" The Avengers and Thalia, who were now standing, glared at him. Percy gulped nervously, and spotted Nico, who was still struggling to his feet. "Hey Nico, are you alright?" He walked over to his cousin and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him upright. Nico shook him off, and straightened, ignoring the concerned looks his friends were beginning to send him.

"I'm fine. Just not that fond of water, is all," he said in as strong a voice as he could manage. He locked the muscles in his legs, which were beginning to shake from the strain of holding his weight, and hoped no one noticed.

Percy didn't look too convinced, and was about to ask more when the ground shook beneath them, causing the others to wobble unsteadily, and Nico to almost faceplant into the sand.

"Gaea's still powerful enough to cause earthquakes?" Bruce asked incredulously.

"No," Percy replied, crouching down and burying his hand in the sand. "She wasn't controlling that quake. It felt like it was caused accidently, almost like her power is leaking out.

"She _did _just get blasted by god killing super powers," Tony pointed out, "We need to take advantage of this weakness before she heals herself. I don't see how we can defeat her otherwise."

"We're gonna need to destroy them first," Clint called down from where he was perched on one of the dunes. "She called up some reinforcements."

Steve cursed, and climbed the dune, peeking over the top. Unexpectedly, he laughed. "She really HAS been weakened. Look at the size of the Earthborn now."

The others scrambled to the top, Nico slower than the others, and saw what he meant immediately. These Earthborn, of which there were less than three hundred, were much smaller than the creatures they had been battling for most of the day. They also had only one set of strong arms, the other two sets being shrivelled and useless, as if Gaea hadn't had the energy to make them complete. Steve grinned at the sight of them, knowing they were even more unintelligent than the last batch, and that there would be no problem in destroying them.

"Alright," the Captain said, "From what I can see from here, Gaea has definitely been weakened. Her fortress is crumbling, and her soldiers don't look much better. Avengers, we'll stay here and deal with the dirt bags, Greek demigods head inside and deal with your grandmother. I'm assuming you'll be able to get rid of her permanently, Nico?"

Nico nodded, and kept his face blank of emotion. He was almost positive he was capable of finishing off Gaea since he had already injured her with his powers, but at what cost to himself? As he gazed down at Gaea's fortress, he could feel the almost unbearable pain of the cursed energy as they tried to sever his soul. He shuddered and winced, feeling relieved when no one else noticed. He wasn't sure how long he could last like this, but if he was going down, he was bringing Gaea with him.

"We'll be fine," Nico replied, and was proud that he could still keep up a normal conversation even as he felt the golden black light tearing away at his soul. His face drained of what little colour it had as a particularly painful internal attack almost brought him to his knees. "You'll know she's defeated once the sandcastle collapses."

Steve nodded at him, frowning faintly as he noticed Nico's slightly pained expression. He put it down to the stress of being possessed. Who wouldn't look a little pale?

"Okay," Steve continued, "We'll clear a path to the door for you. Once inside you need to take her down as fast as you can. This place is sinking down, and I don't know how long the ground will remain stable. Time is of the essence, people, let's go!"

With that, they attacked. The Earthborn were obviously expecting them, but they were incapable of doing much about it. They tried to defend, but the combined might of the Avengers would eventually overwhelm them. While the others fought, Nico, Percy and Thalia sprinted towards the stone door, Nico lagging behind the others, struggling to keep up. When they reached the door, Thalia blasted them apart with lightning, charging on through before waiting for the dust to settle.

Upon entering, they saw the fortress for what it truly was without being distorted by Gaea. It was a huge, plain room, bare of objects but for the huge pillars that supported the fortress' structure, and it ended with deep chasm that led down to the subterranean cave system below at the back. The huge room also housed a number of Earthborn, who after seeing the intruding demigods, attacked with all their might.

Nico, Percy and Thalia made quick work of the beasts, and all too soon, piles of dirt were all that remained. It was pitiful how weak Gaea's creations had become. Still, after the exertion, Nico was forced to lean against one of the pillars as he painfully coughed into his hand. When he pulled it away from his face, he saw it was covered in blood. He hastily wiped his hand on his leg, and looked up at his cousins. They were staring back at him in concern, and through the pain of the cursed power within him, his heart ached for what he was about to do.

"I'm sorry, cousins, but I can't risk your lives. That was the whole point of me taking this job, wasn't it?"

Thalia and Percy stared at him in confusion, failing to understand. "Nico, what do you-"

Nico's arm swung up into the air, and with a flick of his wrist, shadows encased his cousin's feet. He was sure Loki wouldn't mind him stealing his tricks.

"Nico!" Percy yelled, his eyes furious as he tried to escape from the shadows that halted all movement, "What the Hades do you think you're doing! You can't beat her alone! You'll die!"

Nico shrugged, "Death is natural, Kelp Head, it comes to all eventually. Perhaps my time has come."

"Don't be stupid, Death Breath," Thalia growled, "This is our fight too. You can't stop us."

"I can stop her by myself," Nico snarled, his old temper making an appearance through the curtain of pain that was clouding his thoughts, "Why risk your lives when I need only risk my own?" He fell silent, realising he had said too much.

"Nico," Percy whispered, horrified, "You can't sacrifice yourself for this. If we work together, we can stop her. No one else but Gaea has to die today. You don't have to do this alone. Don't be stupid," he reasoned.

Nico stared at them both before closing his eyes. "I don't have much of a choice when it comes to the dying thing. I'm not dragging you down with me. I'm going to end this, once and for all."

Percy and Thalia tried to protest, but Nico sent them away through his shadows. He sent them to Los Angeles, the closest place to his current position that he had previously been to. He collapsed fully against the pillar, and would have fallen to the ground without its support. Guilt began to eat at his pain wracked heart, but Nico dismissed it. If they survived, he honestly couldn't care about their opinions on the matter. He had already lost too much family in this lifetime, perhaps it was time to join them. With that thought, Nico pushed himself upright, using his meagre strength to stagger over to the ladder that would lead him down to his doom.

Nico arrived at the bottom, and began his journey through the tunnels. All too soon, it was too dark for his eyes to see naturally, so he activated his Aura Vision. The tunnel was dimmer than it should have been, and he frowned. Everything had life, so even a tunnel as empty as this one should be slightly illuminated in his mind. Even as he stared at the tunnel, the life force grew darker. He swore as he figured it out.

Gaea was sucking the energy from the earth in her attempt to replenish the life force she had lost courtesy of Nico. He growled, and his anger gave him strength. This was wrong, and he needed to end it quickly. He began to run towards the golden light that shone in the distance.

As he rounded corner after corner in order to reach his destination, Nico marvelled at Gaea's life force. It was so bright and strong, the most powerful he had ever seen, including his father, even in its weakened state, but it was tainted. He wondered at how such a life force could be so evil.

He entered the cavern in which Percy had been imprisoned, and crept forward. Gaea's presence permeated the room so it was impossible to tell where she was exactly. If he wanted to kill her, he would need a direct hit. That meant he had to wait until she appeared. He moved forward silently, waiting for her to make the first move. She did not disappoint.

With a screech, a huge earthen hand shot out of the floor and made to grab Nico. He leapt into the air, and landed on the limb as it smashed into the ground. As it pulled itself out, Nico used the movement to propel himself upwards. He flipped off the hand and landed on the ground in a roll. As he came to a stop, he clutched his chest in pain. This was going to be difficult.

The hand shot towards him again, and this time he merely dived out of the way, having no energy to do anything more. He panted heavily, and a cough erupted from his chest, causing blood to splatter his lips. Upon hearing this, the hand froze. Nico straightened out, and crouched, wary.

"It seems you are injured as much as I am," came her voice.

Nico scoffed, "I'm human. What's your excuse?"

He could tell his words had pissed her off, as the floor began to tremble from her suppressed rage, but her next words were calm. "I do not wish to die, and I doubt you do either, my dear Nico. I admit it was a little cruel of me to force you to do my bidding, but I granted you the powers of a god!"

"You forced the powers to kill a god _on_ me," he retorted, "I'm not your puppet, Gaea, and following orders was never my strong point. The moment you threatened my friends was the moment I became your enemy. I will never join you. You're evil, and I _will _destroy you."

"That is your final decision?"

In response, Nico gave her the finger.

"So be it."

With that, Gaea's true form erupted out of the ground. Nico closed his eyes, and dispelled his Aura Vision, knowing that if he opened them, he would be immediately incinerated. He was extremely thankful that she had been weakened, otherwise merely being in her presence would have caused him to explode into flames. He raised a hand to his face to block the light that was burning through his eyelids, and in that second of distraction, she was on him.

A burning hand latched onto his upper arm, and he was thrown across the cavern where he collided with the rocky wall. He felt his collarbone snap, and swore loudly.

Gaea cackled. "Destroy ME? Did you really believe that you, a puny demigod, could _possible _destroy the _Earth Mother_? How quaint. And I thought you to be intelligent, dear Nico." Nico snarled in response, his eyes still tightly closed, and flicked his hand in the direction of her voice. Untainted black shadows shot from his palm, and stuck the wall across from him.

"Did you think that would hit me?" Gaea said condescendingly from right beside him. Nico spun around and summoned his sword from the shadows, slashing at her. His sword connected with air, and once again a burning hand latched onto him, this time the back of his neck. He was thrown back across the room, colliding with ANOTHER wall, and this time he felt a few ribs, and his ankle snap. He wanted to howl with pain, but stopped himself. He would not give the bitch the satisfaction.

"Poor Nico," she crooned sadly, "You could have been so powerful. A god among gods. There would have been none that could stop you. But you had to choose free will." Her hand fastened around his neck, and hoisted him off the floor, slamming his back against the wall with his feet dandling half a metre above the ground. His sword fell from his grip. "Pity. You would have been rewarded greatly."

Nico started to make a gurgling noise, possibly because of the pressure on his neck. What was it with her strangling him? Gaea, however, knew that Nico was trying to speak.

"Yes, little fool?" she asked, loosening her hold so she could hear what he wanted to say, but increasing the heat coming from the hand wrapped around his neck so it began to burn his skin.

"... I said... your rewards... are shit..."

Gaea snarled, and she slammed him back again with even more force. Nico's head collided with the rock, and all he could feel was pain."

"Ungrateful child," she hissed, her voice as cruel and sharp as knives, "I gave you the power to destroy gods! And you squandered it. You lost those powers the moment you dared evict me from your mind. What comes next is your own doing. Any last words before I kill you, little Prince?"

"... Yeah..." Nico swallowed as best he could before continuing, "... who said... I lost... powers? ... Fuck... that..."

He then stabbed the dagger of gold tainted shadows and hellfire he had managed to manifest during her rant, directly into her chest. Gaea screamed, and staggered backwards. Nico, whose eyes were still closed, slumped to the ground, and curled up around his injuries, covering his ears with his hands. Jesus, she was making a racket.

Gaea grasped the dagger imbedded in her chest, and tried to pull it out. The moment her golden hands came into contact with it, they burst into black flames, which proceeded to eat away at her skin, reducing it to ash.

Gaea screamed in agony, and began to pour energy into her now handless arms in an attempt to grow them back. Instead of healing her arm, however, it just began to speed up the progress. She sank to her knees, still screaming as her arms disappeared, and the air began to fill with her gold energy. She continued to pump it into her limbs in the hope that they would re-grow, but the energy just leaked out, unable to remain contained in her body. The fire erupted from the dagger, and began to consume her torso. The whole while, her screams filled the cavern, and Nico's ears began to bleed from the loud, high pitched noise. He remained curled up, not seeing what was happening before him, and in too much pain to really care.

"NO!" she shrieked, as the fire began licking at her neck, her head now floating in a mass of golden light, "I AM NOT DEFEATED! I AM THE EARTH MOTHER! I AM GAEA! HE WILL _NOT_ STEAL MY-" her voice cut off, because she now had no mouth. The flames continued up, and then, she was gone.

Nico lay on the ground in the deafening silence...

Then, the ground began to shake, Gaea's power no longer keeping the place together. He slowly opened his eyes, and observed what was filling the shaking room with a soft, golden light. Gaea had to be gone, he had stabbed her with her own god killing energy that he had taken from the other god's wounds, so what the fuck was this floating crap?

A mass of golden light was hovering in the air before him. Nico tried to scramble away from it, but that attempt of movement alone managed to use up his last reserves of strength. He hissed at the pain. He could feel his soul beginning to fail, see it in his mind's eye as its bright light began to disappear into the evil Gaea's power had created within him. His eyesight began to fail him, and he slumped limply against the ground. He could not turn his head away from the golden light, and he deduced that it must be Gaea's pure, uncorrupted power that had poured out of her as she tried to heal. He resigned himself to the fact that the last thing he would ever see was the undulating golden mass. His eyes began to close, and he slowly allowed himself to fall into deaths embrace. He felt his heart as it stuttered its last beat, and then-

An explosion of life.

The light shot towards him, and he was enveloped in its golden glow. His eyes shot open, and he gave a yell of surprise. The golden light zoomed through his body, healing his wounds as it went. He grunted in pain as his broken bones were melted back together, and the internal damage caused by the evil gold tainted darkness was repaired. When it reached his soul, it flooded it with light, dispelling the last of the corrupt power. Nico sighed in relief as he felt the last dredges of Gaea's malicious energy leave his body. That sigh quickly morphed into a grunt of panic. The light had healed him, and Nico had thought that once it finished, it would leave his body. But the golden light appeared to have other ideas.

Instead of vacating his body, it began to make itself at home. It had decided Nico was to become its new host.

The light seeped into him, bonding itself to his own power, and Nico knew immediately that this light was the power of the earth itself. The power of a god. A power Nico didn't want.

He began to frantically block the energy from him, trying desperately to halt the process. He didn't want to become a god! Forced to live forever, yet unable to directly influence or help the world as that could interfere with the demigods and mortals? Unable to save his friends?

The power slowly came to a halt. Nico's brow was furrowed in concentration, the stress of blocking the light almost too much for him. He was all alone in the cavern as the quakes began to fade, a new master having come into existence, his presence causing them to calm. He faintly heard the shouts of his team, and was momentarily distracted. He felt his control begin to slip, and he redoubled his efforts. In his opinion, there was no worse fate than what was to become of him should he lose this internal battle. Death would be preferable to this.

For this, _this _was Immortality.

**Hmmm... I appear to have become overly dramatic in my chapter endings. My apologies. Last one ended with him dying, this one ending with forced immortality. Ah well, next, and last chapter will be out on Sunday. Fear not, there WILL be a sequel, and I already kinda know what it will be about. I'll start it in a few weeks. Thanks for reading, reviews are welcome but if anyone wishes to murder me because another cliffhanger, ummm, I'm really really really really uber sorry, but scroll up! I wrote you and insanely long chapter as payment. Forgive me? :3**


	18. Chapter 18

The Avengers were running along the winding underground corridors of Gaea's fortress, dodging the chunks of rock that were falling from the ceiling, and calling out to Nico. They skidded to a halt as the tremors stopped.

"What does this mean?" Clint asked anxiously, "Nico said the tremors would start once Gaea was defeated. If they stopped, does that mean he lost?"

"It doesn't matter," Bruce cut in, "We're going in anyway. Nico might need our help. We can't leave him at her mercy."

With that, they sped off again, this time moving with more panic as they were now unsure as to whether or not they would be fighting Gaea once they arrived to their destination. Tony illuminated the passages for them, and he led the way, following the faint heat signature he was detecting from up ahead.

"Come on! We're almost there!"

The heroes added a burst of speed, and all but flew through the last tunnel, arriving in a huge cavern. They skirted around the large boulders dotting the floor, and hurried towards the faint golden light that they could see in the far corner of the cavern. Weapons were charged and unsheathed, and they crept forward, ready for an attack. They rounded the last boulder, and all of them gasped in surprise and the sight before them.

Nico, whose normal powers gave him a dark aura and a darker still shadow, now looked to be illuminated from the inside by golden light.

"He's possessed again," Thor growled, "We need to get him back. Man of Iron, you must insult the boy." Everyone but Loki pointed their weapons at the teenager.

Loki stepped forward, and held a hand up, "He's not possessed," he said slowly, dropping into a crouch so he could examine Nico's face that was hidden behind his hair as his face was bent forward. "He's... no, that's not possible..."

"What is it?" Natasha demanded impatiently, recalling how powerful Nico had been whilst under Gaea's control, "What did she do to him?"

"She did nothing to him," Loki said, and carefully placed a hand on Nico's shoulder, "My friend, are you injured? What has happened? Why do I sense her power without her control?"

Nico, who was trying with all his might to stay in control of the power, forcing it to stop it's corruption of his human self, clenched his fists and screwed up his eyes. "Gaea... dead... Power... transfer. Can't... stop. Turning... god. Help..."

Thor immediately lowered his hammer and rushed to his brother's side, dropping to his knees before Nico and placing a hand on his sweaty brow. "He's burning up. We need to get him to the Greeks immediately. Nico, you need to stop fighting it. Gaea's energy has chosen you, you can't stop it. You're killing yourself!"

Nico, who only heard Thor faintly, concentrating as hard as he was on controlling the golden power, only managed to lift one finger in Thor's direction. The Asgardian scowled at the rude gesture.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, "What happened to Nico? Why the heck is he glowing?"

It was Loki who answered, creating ice and holding it to Nico's face. "Nico killed the Earth Mother, but her energy did not dissipate. When a god fades, they will usually pass on their dominions to another entity, such as when Selene granted her dominion over the moon to Artemis. Gaea's power over the Earth has claimed Nico. He is becoming a god."

"Then why is he burning up?" Natasha asked, watching with worry as Nico's skin began to turn red, and sweat dripped from his stressed face.

"He is fighting it," Loki replied, and carefully pulled Nico upright, trying not to jostle him too much. This movement alone caused a lapse in Nico's concentration, and he flashed an intense gold. The Avengers cried out, their eyes burning because of the godly light, before Nico clamped down on the energy.

"Olympus," he managed to gasp out, "Make... it... stop."

Loki nodded at him, even though Nico's eyes were closed once again. "We'll get you there. We'll need to travel fast, though. Will you be able to last that long?"

"I'd... better..."

"Alright," Steve announced, grabbing hold of Nico's other glowing arm, "Let's go!"

By the time they exited the fortress, which once Nico left began to crumble back to sand, Nico had begun to glow even brighter. The energy was slowly, but surely, beating away his defences, and soaking into his body. He could feel himself begin to give into to the power, and grew angry at himself. He fought even more than before, and Steve and Loki felt the arms that they were holding increase in temperature. "We need to hurry!"

"How are we supposed to get there?"

"Maybe we could get a lift from Percy's dad? Oh wait, crap..."

Tony walked over to Nico, poking him in the face to get his attention. The golden light flared again, but Nico quickly controlled it. "WHAT?"

"Where did you send your cousins, Emo Ninja? We need their daddy's to help us out. We won't be able to traverse the country in time to help you if they don't."

"Sent them... to... Los Angeles... They're safe..."

"Great!" Tony exclaimed, "Now how do we get home?"

Slowly, Nico raised his head, breathing deeply in order to stay in control, "I'll bring... us..."

He clenched his teeth, and as he did, gold tainted shadows rose from the ground.

"Uhh Nico," Clint said warily, eyeing the cursed shadows as he slowly backed away, "I'd rather you didn't kill us, if it's the same to you..."

"Shit," he growled, and with even more concentration, he swore his brain was going to explode, he willed the gold power away, leaving only black. The pure shadows then enveloped them, and transported them away.

They arrived back in the still almost silent New York, directly across from the Empire State Building.

"Good aim," Loki muttered, before he was almost blinded by the strongest flash of godly light yet. They all blinked burning eyes, and Thor lead the way across the street into the skyscraper, knowing that the entrance to Olympus resided inside the towering building. The human members of the team were extremely confused by their current surroundings, but chose to trust their other team mates.

Thor strode over to the elevator, and forced the door open with his great strength. The others filed in after him.

"... You do realise that all you had to do was click a button, right?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

Thor flushed, but refused to answer, and instead gazed down at Nico, who had sunk to the floor and was holding his head between his hands, now glowing quite brightly. Loki prodded the button panel, releasing a tendril of magic, and smirked in triumph as a glowing button reading 600th Floor appeared on it. He clicked it, and the mangled doors managed to slide closed. The small elevator, made even smaller because of the many muscled individuals now crammed into it, was filled with terrible music.

Clint grunted in disgust, and shot the intercom with an arrow. This in turn knocked out the lights, and the small space was dark but for the combined light of Nico and Tony.

"..."

They finally reached Olympus. Tony immediately made to stride out of the Elevator, but staggered backwards as he was blocked by an invisible barrier. "What the hell?"

"Mortals cannot enter," Loki said smugly, and strode out, pulling Nico with him. "Brother, help me lift him," Loki said as he gazed at the beautiful city before him. Thor immediately moved forward, and it was only as he grabbed Nico's arm, causing him to flash with light, and Thor to cringe, that he realised that Loki had called him brother.

"You must return," Thor said apologetically to the others, but there was a faint smile on his face. He and Loki had made progress, "We will return once the Greeks have healed the son of Hades."

The agents nodded in understanding, but Steve's, Bruce's, and Tony's faces fell with disappointment. This was so unfair.

The mangled doors closed once again, leaving Nico, Thor and Loki standing before them.

"For fucks... sake! Get me... to the... Throne Room!"

They hurried to the Throne Room in such a rush that they failed to notice the lesser gods shrink away from them and some even ran away in terror. It seemed no one had told them Nico was back to normal. They finally reached the huge doors of the Throne Room, and Thor shoved them open.

Immediately, all the Olympians leapt out of their thrones, except for Hades who was still feeling drained. "What is the meaning of this!" Zeus thundered, and lightning flashed outside, "How DARE you enter this place, Asgardians! There shall be war for this."

"Be quiet, Husband," Hera cried, grabbing Zeus' arm and pointing at Nico, "Look who they bring!"

Everyone's eyes fastened on Nico, who was now glowing almost as bright as they were.

"What in Tartarus happened?" Hermes whispered.

"Nico killed the Earth Mother," Loki announced, and the god's faces morphed into ones of shock, and a few began cheering, "But he has been claimed by the Earth's power. It seems to want him to replace Gaea."

"That is preposterous," Zeus announced, "A demigod is not capable of handling such power."

"Father, it is true," Apollo said as he examined Nico. "Her power is in him. In fact, he's currently fighting it."

"What?" Demeter exclaimed, "Why? Does this not mean he will become a god?"

Nico then spoke for the first time since entering the room. "Don't want... to be... a god..."

The Olympians stared at him incredulously. "Not again," Hephaestus muttered, "First the sea spawn, and now the hell spawn. I blame it on bad parenting."

Zeus stared at the demigod before him, flanked as he was by the Asgardians. "Who wish to remain mortal? Why?"

"Death... is natural..." Nico growled.

"That it is, son."

"Hades!" Poseidon exclaimed, hurrying to his brother's side, "Sit down. You have yet to regain your strength. Do not tax yourself." Hades brushed past him, and slowly walked over to his son, his face pinched with pain, and his glow still weak.

"Nico, you wish to remain mortal?" Hades asked.

Nico nodded, "I don't want this," he managed to say, and he looked up at his father with gold eyes. Hades flinched at the sight, remembering the dead expression Nico had worn whilst being controlled by Gaea, and his cold, remorseless golden eyes. "I don't want to become a god... Father, you take this power instead..."

Hades eyes widened in shock. Before he could reply, Zeus shouted, "That cannot be permitted. If Hades gained those powers, the balance between the Big Three would be destroyed."

Athena, who had been staring at Nico the entire time, a calculating look on her face, spoke, "I have a suggestion, but I would rather not act on it. The boy gained this power after Gaea was killed, so it goes to reason that if he himself died, the powers would claim a new host on their own."

Hades whirled around, and glared at the other gods, causing most of them to shrink back in fear, "You will NOT harm my son! I will destroy any who try!"

"Calm down, Hades," Zeus admonished, "We will have a vote on whether or not we kill the demigod. If you lose, you will have no right to attack us. That is how this council works."

Hades was about to argue when Nico spoke up, managing to speak in full sentences. As well as the golden glow, he was now emitting black and gold flames that were flickering around him also. Hades took a step back, not out of fear, but because the energy coming from his son was the same that had almost killed the god. He was positive Nico's mind was his own, but with this much power, an accident would be the death of him. "Lord Zeus," he said in a low voice, "Need I remind you that less than an hour ago, I killed Gaea. Do you really think I will simply allow you to decide my fate?"

The gods gulped, and mutterings filled the room. "Godkiller..."

Zeus cleared his throat, not willing to admit how nervous Nico was making him. The boy was powerful. "Very well, we shall not kill you, but what alternative is there? You say you wish to remain mortal, yet the only choice you have is to die or become a god."

"There has to be another," Nico snarled, and then gasped as the energy attacked with renewed strength, causing him to miss the rest of what was being said. He dropped to his knees, and wrapped his arms around himself. He couldn't stop it much longer.

Loki crouched beside him, whispering encouragement, helping him to concentrate while Thor glared at the Greeks.

"You must help him," Thor announced, "He has already done much for you."

"I have an idea," Hades grumbled, staring down at Nico in concern, "But it will be painful, son, and I don't know whether it will work. Are you willing to risk it?"

"... I trust you... Father.."

"Very well." Hades closed his eyes, and began to chant in Ancient Greek. As they listened to his words, the other God's eyes widened. Loki and Thor however, were unable to speak a word of Greek, and could only stare at Nico's father in confusion.

As Hades continued to chant, darkness coalesced in his hand, and began to swirl in time with his words. It shone with dark purpose, and everyone feared it. Hades pulled Nico upright, and without further ado, slammed the dark energy into Nico's chest, right where the golden blade had sunk before. Nico howled in pain, but cut himself off after only a second. He gritted his teeth at the pain, feeling them grinding together, but he was relieved when he felt the golden energy get sucked up by his father's power. He sighed in relief, thinking his father had decided to claim the powers after all, when the shadows began to burn his chest. His breath hitched as what felt like molten knives began to carve open his chest. Hades caught his son as Nico fell forward, still keeping a hand connected to Nico's chest. Nico grabbed the hand fastened to his chest and tried to pull it away, but Hades didn't move.

"I'm sorry, my son. It is almost done," Hades whispered.

Finally, the hand was removed, and Nico only remained upright through the support of his father. As the air touched his chest, Nico hissed and looked down at it through his now burned t-shirt, and raised an eyebrow as he saw what had been done to him.

A complex tattoo composed of symbols and words was now burned onto his chest. The symbols were black, and the writing was gold, and he grew dizzy just looking at it as it was moving, swirling beneath the skin. He no longer glowed gold, and had reverted back to his usual deathly pale complexion.

"You sealed it?" he asked hoarsely, his throat raw from suppressed screams.

"Yes," Hades replied, "It seems to have worked. Funny, I thought it would fail." Nico glared at him. "I have locked the power away. It is still there, but it is imprisoned. If you break the seal, however, the energy will return as it was, wrestling for dominance over your mortal half. It is now dormant, and I am sure you would like to keep it that way."

Nico bowed low to his father, "Thank you, Lord Hades." Hades raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

"So, he is cured?" Thor asked.

"Yes," Hades replied. He looked Nico right in the eye as he said his next words, "He is now unable to use the powers the Earth's energy granted to him, such as the ability to force us to fade." He winked at Nico, who in turn, smirked slightly at his father.

The gods all breathed sighs of relief. "That is good," Zeus said, "For we wouldn't have been able to let you go free if you had retained those evil powers, Godkiller."

Nico raised an eyebrow. Not another godsdamn title...

"Now that Nico has been healed, I believe it is time that we take our leave," Loki announced graciously, "Thank you oh so much for your assistance. You are all truly remarkable beings." The gods smiled proudly, and Aphrodite even giggled. Well, all the gods but Hades and Apollo. Hades did nothing, because he couldn't give a damn about what the Asgardian thought of him. Apollo just frowned in confusion, because for some reason, he had sensed a faint lie at Loki's words. Or had he? But that was impossible, only a true trickster could fool the Greek god of Truth...

"Very well," Zeus rumbled, "You may leave. Inform that mortal organization of yours that there will be no more problems. Gaea has been defeated, and this war is over." He laughed, "What else could happen?" With a flash of lightning, he teleported them away.

**One week later**

New York was once again full of people. Although Nico disliked crowds in general, he had to admit that he preferred the city with its citizens were present. It had seemed dead without them.

"Why did you drag us here, Stark?" Clint asked grumpily as he scanned the Italian restaurant they were in, searching for possible threats. So far all he had seen were a hell of a lot of wide eyed adoring fans who were gaping open mouthed at the sight of the Avengers all seated at the same table.

"Why are we here, you ask?" Tony replied in Italian.

"Speak in English, Stark," Steve growled, staring moodily at a wall. The food was taking forever to arrive, and he was starving, "Only you, Clint and Natasha speak Italian."

"I speak a bit," Loki proclaimed, before returning to his task of charming the cutlery to dance around the table. Nico was entertaining himself by flicking pieces of a bread roll into Thor's hair. The others were quietly chatting to each other.

"Actually, young Emo Ninja speaks Italian. Want to know why?"

"Not really."

"He's Italian!" Tony announced.

"Shut up, Stark," Nico growled.

"But you're European," Tony persisted, "I can't wait to announce it to your fangirls. Did you know you already have over a thousand websites dedicated to you?"

"Shut up!"

"Amazing really, I made over three thousand dollars just by selling your old t-shirt. That ratty one with the skull on it."

The whole restaurant fell silent as Nico filled it with an aura of terror. He turned glowing, full black eyes that now had a gold reptilian pupil to Stark, and snarled.

"My _favourite_ t-shirt that I thought went missing? YOU _STOLE_ IT?"

Tony laughed uncomfortably, "... No?"

Nico turned back to Loki. "This means war."

Loki grinned gleefully, "Yes! Now we can use the gunpowder! I _told_ you I was right to buy extra."

Nico nodded in agreement, and the rest of the table's occupants glared at Tony. He was responsible for this. He was saved from being murdered by the arrival of the food. Everyone immediately dug in, and the restaurant filed with chatter once again as Nico was distracted by food, so atmosphere returned to normal. After a few minutes without chatter, Thor asked, "Friend Nico, earlier when you were angered, you glowed slightly gold. Also, your eyes were different from usual."

"Yup."

After ten seconds and he didn't say anything else, Thor continued, "But your father said those powers were locked away."

Loki laughed, "He lied. And I must say, it was a fine lie at that. Nobody suspected him for a moment."

The others frowned in confusion, "So the powers aren't locked away?"

"They are," Nico said, and took another bite of food, glad he had chosen to wear a hood rather than his mask when Stark had told them they were going out. He wouldn't have been able to eat the awesome food if he hadn't, "My dad just halted the 'god process'. I'm still a demigod, but the powers had already bonded to me. He said it was because his children already have a close affinity with the earth, even if it is through the Underworld. Basically I'm mortal, but more kickass."

"Well, luckily you won't have to use those powers for a while. We just won _another_ war. I can't see another attack happening too soon."

"There's always something else," Steve said wisely. "We'll just have to enjoy the peace while it lasts."

Everyone voiced their agreement, and clinked glasses. They began eating again, and Nico relaxed. Amazing food, even better friends, and no evil grandmother to fuck it up. Life was good.

"No need to worry at all," Tony said happily, "After all, we have the almighty Godkiller on our team!"

Nico snarled and kicked Tony's chair, causing the billionaire to fall backwards and land in a heap on the floor.

Why did he have to work with these idiots?

**It is finished! Thanks to everyone who read my story, you're all supermegaawesome people. I'll write a sequel once I finish one of my other two stories. Thanks for reading :P**


	19. Sequel

Sequel to Death's Avenger has just been uploaded! It wont let me put up a link :L

Enjoy! :)


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